For generations, millions of Nigerians have relied on informal group savings schemes known by different names across the country — ajo in Yoruba communities, esusu in parts of the South-West, and adashe in the North. The concept is simple: a group of people contribute a fixed amount periodically, and each member receives the pooled sum when it is their turn. The system has endured for decades because it works. But it also carries risks — defaults, disputes, poor record-keeping, and sometimes outright loss of funds. A new Nigerian fintech startup, Thrifto, is aiming to modernise this long-standing financial practice by…
Author: Abimbola Ogunaike
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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has unveiled a platform, ‘One ADC Movement,’ to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027. The platform unveiled in Abuja on Wednesday, is designed to rally members around unity, discipline and shared political purpose. Speaking at the unveiling, the National Coordinator of the movement, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie, described the project as a deliberate effort to reinforce solidarity across the party’s structures while discouraging actions that undermine collective progress. According to her, the movement emerged from the conviction that the strength of a political party lies not in individual ambitions but in the unity…
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF)n Thursday, 12 March, 2026 officially pulled a former Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, out of service, marking the official end of his time in the NPF. The former police chief was accompanied to the event held in Abuja on Thursday, 12 March, 2026 by his wife, Elizabeth Egbetokun. Speaking at the ceremony, the former IGP said that serving as IGP remains one of the highest privileges of his life. He said that under his leadership, the police expanded their operational capabilities. The former police chief disclosed that the cybercrime section had been upgraded. The former…
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) on Thursday, 12 March, 2026 urged Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to throw out the rights enforcement suit filed by former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai. El-Rufai is seeking ₦1 billion in compensation against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Chief Magistrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, the IGP, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF). He is challenging a recent search of his Asokoro home in Abuja by law enforcement agents, during which some items were allegedly recovered. In a…
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who is yet to appear in public, vowed on Thursday, 12 March, 2026 to avenge the deaths since the start of the war with the US and Israel, in a statement read out by a presenter on state TV. “A limited amount of this revenge has so far taken concrete form, but until it is fully achieved, this case will remain among our priorities,” Khamenei, said according to the statement. “We will seek compensation from the enemy, and if they refuse, we will take as much of their property as we determine, and if…
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) on Thursday, 12 March, 2026 announced that it has granted another extension for its Student Loan Application Portal to accommodate institutions that requested additional time for the 2025/2026 academic session, reports thegazellenews.com. NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, who made this disclosure through a statement issued on Thursday, 12 March, 2025, said the extension applies only to institutions that submitted formal requests, allowing eligible students extra time to complete their applications. “The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has approved an extension of its Student Loan Application Portal for institutions that have formally requested additional time…
The Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Nigeria, Sharon Dimanche, has disclosed that over 3.7 million people are currently living in displacement across Nigeria as a result of conflict, violence, and climate-related shocks such as flooding and environmental pressures, reports thegazellenews.com. Dimanche, who made this disclosure while delivering a goodwill message at the First Edo State Humanitarian Summit held in Benin City, noted that behind the growing displacement figures are families struggling to rebuild their lives with dignity and determination, stressing that humanitarian action must go beyond emergency response to restoring hope and opportunity. According to…
The United Nations refugee agency on Thursday, 12 March, 2026 disclosed that to 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the Middle East war started, reports thegazellenews.com. The Head of UNHCR’s emergency support team and also refugee response coordinator for the Middle East emergency, Ayaki Ito made this disclosure through a statement issued on Thursday, 12 March, 2026. “Between 600,000 and one million Iranian households are now temporarily displaced inside Iran as a result of the ongoing conflict, according to preliminary assessments,” Ito said. According to him, that represents “up to 3.2 million people”, he said in a statement,…
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Thursday, 12 March, 2026 received at least nine senators from various political parties into its fold at the Nigerian Senate, a development that has further altered the political balance within the upper chamber. Among the lawmakers who announced their move to the party are: Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto South; Enyinnaya Abaribe, Abia South; Binos Yaroe, Adamawa South; Victor Umeh, Anambra Central; Tony Nwoye, Anambra North; Lawal Usman, Kaduna Central; Ogoshi Onawo, Nasarawa South; Austin Akobundu, Abia Central; and Ireti Kingibe, Federal Capital Territory. Their defection letters were read during Thursday, 12 March, 2026, plenary session…
By Oluwole Solanke, PhD, FCIB @Fedpoffa As Abuja moves toward restructuring the nation’s security architecture, Nigerians must ask not only whether state policing will work, but whether the institutions exist to make it work fairly. Nigeria is burning in slow motion. From the bandits terrorising farming communities across the North-West, to the insurgents who have held the North-East hostage for over a decade; from the farmer-herder violence tearing through the Middle Belt, to the epidemic of kidnapping that has made journeys on major highways a matter of survival, the country’s security situation has deteriorated to a point where incremental solutions…