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The Big Story
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Akpabio's Defence of Tinubu's Absence Raises a Bigger Question
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“What he cannot do here, he’s doing abroad.” Senate President Godswill Akpabio
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Senate President Godswill Akpabio defended President Bola Tinubu's extended stay abroad, rejecting an Akwa Ibom State government social media post that had described him as “Acting President.” Speaking at a road commissioning event in Ikot Ekpene, Akpabio said Tinubu remains in office and is using the time abroad to do things he “cannot do” in Nigeria, without specifying what those activities are, beyond confirmed engagements in London and Paris and a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on bilateral relations. [Premium Times] The clarification arrived the same week the 21-day window under Section 145 of the Constitution, within which a president on leave must transmit a written declaration or the National Assembly may act, expired without one being filed. A group of House members calling themselves the Save Democracy Group has now formally called on the National Assembly to reconvene and determine whether Vice President Kashim Shettima should assume presidential functions in Tinubu's absence. [Premium Times]
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What Else Is Happening
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Civil Society Group Warns Kidnapping Is Becoming a Commercial Industry
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) warned that commercialised kidnapping for ransom is eroding Nigeria's peacebuilding efforts, presenting its 9th Nigeria Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 Shadow Report at a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) side event in New York. Executive Director Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani said the problem now affects freedom of movement, economic activity and citizens' confidence in the state, flagging weak enforcement and political interference. [Guardian]
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Nigeria and Italy Launch Push to Raise $5bn for Global Education
Nigeria and Italy co-hosted a high-level UNGA event to advance the Global Partnership for Education's campaign to mobilise $5 billion for education financing worldwide, with Vice President Kashim Shettima noting that Tinubu has directed recovered Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) funds toward the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. Italy pledged €50 million toward the campaign. [ThisDay]
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Election Commission Warns Funding Constraints Could Threaten 2027 Logistics
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Joash Amupitan warned that financial constraints could undermine the commission's ability to deploy personnel, materials and other resources needed for the 2027 general elections, speaking at a security retreat in Owerri. He said INEC's responsibilities span voter registration, party registration and elections at every level of government, all competing for the same constrained budget. [Guardian]
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Atiku Donates NGN20m to Families of Niger Miners, Relays Harrowing Account
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar visited the families of the 37 miners who died in Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) custody in Niger State and donated NGN20 million to support those left behind. Atiku said a survivor told him more than 68 people were crammed into one detention facility, and conditions grew so desperate that detainees had to drink each other's urine to stay hydrated. [ThisDay]
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Market Watch
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| FX |
The naira strengthened slightly by NGN0.17 to NGN1,328.67 per US dollar on September 24, a 0.01% move from NGN1,328.50 on September 23, an essentially flat session that follows a steady run of gains through the week and a broader climb from NGN1,475.00 at the start of the year. [CBN]
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The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index rose 0.38% to 252,150.01 from 251,191.02 on September 23, an eleventh straight positive session and a year-to-date gain of 62.04%, extending a rally that has held through several shifts in interest rates and the naira since January. [NGX Group]
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Nigeria is on high alert over the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has grown to 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths across 63 health zones as of September 21, per the World Health Organization (WHO). The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) requires a Health Declaration Form from travellers arriving from affected countries as part of enhanced surveillance. [Premium Times]
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Quick Hits
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| → The National Examinations Council (NECO) released 2026 Internal Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) results: of 1,371,992 candidates who sat the exam, 58.67% earned five credits including English and Mathematics, while examination malpractice fell sharply from 3,878 cases in 2025 to 1,406 in 2026. [Vanguard] |
| → Works Minister Dave Umahi said the reconstructed First Niger Bridge will reopen to motorists next week, initially on one carriageway, with the second carriageway following 21 days later once remaining structural work is complete. [ThisDay] |
| → Kidnappers in Kebbe, Sokoto State, demanded NGN40 million from residents after an attack on Tofa this month killed up to 10 people and left dozens abducted, part of a wider pattern of renewed banditry testing local peace arrangements in the Northwest. [Premium Times] |
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On a Lighter Note
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A year-old story about a Nigerian couple, Chief Oludolapo Akinkugbe and his wife Janet, dying just 11 days apart at 97 after nearly 70 years of marriage, resurfaced online this week, triggering thousands of comments about grandparents and growing old together. [Pulse]
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Why It Matters
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Akpabio's clarification was supposed to close a question. Instead it opened a bigger one: what, specifically, can a president only do abroad? Diplomatic engagements happen through embassies and phone calls every day; investment talks rarely require a head of state's physical presence to work. Without an answer, the defence reads less like reassurance and more like a placeholder. That placeholder now has a name attached to it: a formal House group is asking the National Assembly to determine whether Shettima should take over, precisely the mechanism Section 145 exists to trigger once its 21-day window lapses unanswered. Meanwhile the government's other commitments keep moving on their own schedule, a $5 billion education campaign, a warning about kidnapping's growing economics, an election body flagging money it may not have. None of that requires resolving where the president is. But an unanswered constitutional question does not pause just because the news cycle moves elsewhere. It sits there, unresolved, until someone answers it or the machinery designed to answer it automatically gets used.
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Around the Community
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Wishing our reader Gbolahan Afolabi a very happy birthday in advance, from all of us at Frontier Brief Media.
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Produced with AI assistance using open-source web content. Sources have not been independently verified by Frontier Brief Media. Readers are encouraged to consult original sources before acting on any information herein.
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