General News
GMB Says He’ll be Ruthless against Corruption, B/Haram
Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president-elect, did not smile while making his acceptance speech on Wednesday — understandably, as terrorism and corruption were his main talking points.
A day after piling up substantial vote totals against the incumbent president, Mr. Buhari, a former general who once rose to power in a military coup, further consolidated something extraordinary for Nigeria: the peaceful passing of power from one political party to another through the ballot box, according to New York Times.
The country is now a democratic nation like others, Mr. Buhari suggested Wednesday, both in his words and in the fact that the democratic process had worked well enough that he could give the speech at all.
But in his remarks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Mr. Buhari also bluntly enumerated two scourges in this giant democracy: the ruthless onslaught of the Boko Haram militant group and the “evil of corruption,” as he put it.
In pairing them so prominently, he appeared to be setting his agenda for the coming months. And in lieu of a detailed policy platform from Mr. Buhari, who was short on specifics during his campaign, his vow to defeat Boko Haram amounts to a national security strategy, while fighting corruption has become an economic one.
President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, a former military leader, vowed to fight the scourges of corruption and Boko Haram militants.
On Wednesday, he focused more on the challenges posed by corruption than on the dangers of Boko Haram, perhaps indicating a veteran soldier’s disdain for the group as a true military threat.
Though Boko Haram has killed thousands of civilians and stormed across big stretches of territory, Mr. Buhari was bluntly dismissive of the insurgents in a January interview on the campaign trail, characterizing their fighting abilities in disparaging terms.
“Boko Haram will soon know the strength of our collective will,” he said Wednesday. “We shall spare no effort until we defeat terrorism.”
As a practical matter, Boko Haram, despite having pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group, is now less of a menace on the ground in Nigeria than it was in January.
A coalition of foreign and domestic troops has substantially reduced Boko Haram’s footprint in the northeastern territory it had been holding for much of the past few years. Troops from Chad have taken the handful of border towns once held by the militants, and the Nigerians, backed by South African mercenaries, have taken others.
It is impossible to verify the Nigerian military’s claim that nearly all the previously Islamist-occupied towns in the northeast — “local government areas,” as they are called in Nigeria — have now been reclaimed from Boko Haram. But many have been, and the latest, Gwoza, had been a Boko Haram stronghold for months.
More challenging for Mr. Buhari will be the rot in the army that led to Boko Haram’s ascendance in the first place: corruption at high levels, poor morale, and troops underequipped because much of the $6 billion military budget has apparently been diverted.
“What they have is such an institutional problem, it’s going to take a long time to fix it,” said a diplomat in Abuja, who was not authorized to speak publicly. The hiring of mercenaries to defeat Boko Haram is a “short- to mid-term solution until they can address the other thing,” the diplomat said.
In interviews, Mr. Buhari has spoken of his anger at seeing foreign troops play a leading role in solving Nigeria’s Boko Haram problem. But he may not have much choice for now.
Most difficult for him will be how to handle the command deficiencies that put frightened, lightly armed soldiers in the field against Boko Haram, leading to many losses and retreats in Nigeria’s nearly six-year battle with the militants.
Human rights abuses against civilians by the Nigerian military have also been disturbingly common, with soldiers killing and detaining residents en masse.
“What has been consistently lacking is the required leadership in our battle against insurgency,” Mr. Buhari said in a speech at the London think tank Chatham House in late February.
Here, he will tread gingerly, Mr. Buhari has suggested, seeking to determine responsibilities before proceeding to, say, firing the top chiefs whom many blame for Nigeria’s military failures.
Boko Haram led Mr. Buhari on Wednesday to segue immediately into Nigeria’s corruption problem, which “attacks our national character” and “distorts the economy,” he said.
He made it clear that, falling oil prices aside, he sees this as the country’s top economic problem, telling the audience at Abuja’s International Conference Center that “such an illegal yet powerful force soon comes to undermine democracy.” He promised to “end this threat to our economic development and democratic survival.”
At Chatham House, Mr. Buhari suggested that what he called a “war waged on corruption” would be the first step in tackling the country’s pressing economic problems.
The price of oil, on which the government depends for over 70 percent of its revenue, has tumbled. Nigeria’s currency has fallen some 20 percent against the dollar over six months. Foreign currency reserves are dwindling, and an oil-revenue rainy day fund has been ransacked.
“In the face of dwindling revenues, a good place to start the repositioning of Nigeria’s economy is to swiftly tackle two ills that have ballooned under the present administration: waste and corruption,” Mr. Buhari said at Chatham House.
Several Nigerian economists suggested that Mr. Buhari’s strategy was plausible as a first step.
“The first thing to do is to recognize that there is so much waste in government,” said a leading Lagos economist, Pat Utomi.
“If you cut the graft, you can do things,” he said. “We have a new presidential jet in this budget. Most airlines in Nigeria don’t have as many jets as the presidential fleet.”
Another economist also suggested that Mr. Buhari’s anticorruption stance was critical in a country with, as a recent World Bank paper put it, a “deeply embedded culture of corruption.”
With the new president’s emphasis on “accountability, integrity and transparency,” one economist, Bismarck Rewane, said the “missing piece in the Nigerian economy” would be filled in.
Of course, other Nigerian politicians have promised to end corruption, only to fail or even steal with abandon afterward. But there is some reason to think Mr. Buhari may hew more closely to his promises. As military ruler in 1984 and 1985, he did not enrich himself. And he ruthlessly pursued those whom he accused of corruption.
“Corruption will not be tolerated by this administration, and it shall no longer be allowed to stand as if it is a respected monument in this nation,” he said Wednesday.
Latest data report from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has pegged Nigeria’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) Database at 67.8 million registrations (27.97% of the country’s population) following a steady growth streak over the last five years.
NIBBS, which manages the BVN infrastructure for Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, revealed that BVN registrations jumped from 63.5 million in 2024 to 67.8 million by the end of 2025, representing a 4.3 million increase in a year.
The latest NIBBS data reveals a consistent upward trend across the last five years, supporting the rhetoric that the Bank Verification Number has become a major protocol for accessing financial services in the country. The enrollment figures over the last five years, according to NIBBS, are as follows.
The increase represents an estimated 6.8 per cent year-on-year growth between 2024 and 2025, one of the highest leaps over the last 5 years.
The Driving Force Behind the Increased BVN Enrollment
Analysts pinpoint the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policies and enforcement procedures as the primary driver of the five-year upward trend in BVN enrollment.
Some of the most efficient CBN policies behind the surge include the directive to restrict or freeze bank accounts lacking both a BVN and a National Identification Number (NIN), effective from April 2024.
The directive caused a stir, prompting many Nigerians to register for BVN to maintain uninterrupted financial services.
The introduction of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative enabled Nigerians living abroad to obtain a BVN remotely, eliminating the need to be physically present in Nigeria.
The NRBVN programme was a game-changer, bringing the weight of the Nigerian diaspora to the fore. Its successful integration served as a significant milestone in efforts to deepen financial inclusion and formally integrate the Nigerian diaspora into the country’s financial ecosystem.
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to unlock opportunities in Nigeria’s digital economy and accelerate national development.
Inuwa made the call at a NITDA-States IT Stakeholders’ Engagement and Ecosystem Development programme themed “Creating Opportunities, Breaking Boundaries: Towards Digitalization and Entrepreneurial Evolution.” in Abuja
Speaking at the event, the NITDA boss, represented by Mr Ajayi Babajide, Director Zonal Office Coordination, said Nigeria’s economy Africa’s largest by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is at a critical juncture that requires urgent diversification, noting that the digital economy presents a strategic pathway to sustainable growth, job creation, and inclusive development.
He explained that in today’s interconnected world, digitalisation has become a key driver of economic transformation, offering unprecedented access to knowledge and creating opportunities for developing nations to compete globally.
According to him, the technology sector remains one of the fastest growing and most impactful segments of the global economy, stressing the need for Nigeria to position itself to fully harness its potential.
Inuwa reaffirmed NITDA’s mandate to drive and coordinate digital innovation across the country, adding that the agency is focused on creating an enabling environment that empowers all sectors, including underserved communities, to contribute meaningfully to the economy.
He highlighted the implementation of the agency’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2.0), designed to deliver life-transforming opportunities and strengthen Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. He also pointed to the National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF), which aims to equip citizens across various sectors with the digital skills required to thrive in a rapidly evolving economy.
The DG disclosed that NITDA has established over 100 IT centres nationwide and provided infrastructure to support digital learning and skills acquisition. However, he emphasised that sustaining and expanding these initiatives would require deeper collaboration with stakeholders.
He called for stronger partnerships among government at all levels, the private sector, academia, and civil society, noting that innovation thrives in an ecosystem supported by effective policies, access to funding, and enabling regulations.
Inuwa also stressed the importance of investing in innovation hubs and incubators to nurture startups from ideation to market readiness, enabling them to compete favourably on the global stage.
On entrepreneurship, he noted that NITDA has continued to support innovation through its special purpose vehicles, including the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI) and the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), which provide incubation, acceleration, and training programmes for startups and young innovators.
He observed that Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem has attracted significant investments and produced globally recognised startups, including unicorns, but said more efforts are needed to sustain the momentum.
Inuwa further noted that digitalisation holds immense potential for economic diversification, job creation, and inclusive growth, but warned that these opportunities must be deliberately harnessed through robust policies, legal frameworks, and strong institutional support.
He said the engagement provided a platform for stakeholders to exchange ideas, co-create solutions, and align strategies for the effective rollout of digital initiatives across states in line with SRAP 2.0.
The NITDA boss reiterated the agency’s commitment to fostering partnerships and providing the necessary support to drive Nigeria’s digital transformation, expressing confidence that collective efforts would deliver lasting impact.
He urged participants to remain committed to building a future where innovation thrives, opportunities are accessible, and Nigeria’s digital economy reaches its full potential.
In his earlier keynote address, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology Kogi State, Pharm. Eric Monday, explained that the state’s digital strategy is focused on applying technology to critical sectors, particularly healthcare, where efforts are underway to improve data management and expand service coverage. He added that similar interventions are being extended to works and environmental management.
He noted that outcomes from previous stakeholder engagements had helped shape actionable plans, stressing the importance of collaboration in achieving sustainable progress.
“Our goal is to learn from others while also sharing our experiences. The knowledge gained from engagements like this will help us strengthen our systems, create opportunities for our youth, and support skills development,” he said.
Highlighting ongoing projects, he disclosed that a skills acquisition centre, supported by development partners, is nearing completion and will soon be equipped to train young people in relevant digital skills.
Monday further revealed that the state is expanding its partnerships beyond Nigeria, including collaborations with Chinese organisations, to build a robust innovation ecosystem and open up new economic opportunities.
Describing Kogi as a “land of opportunity,” the official said the government is committed to leveraging its strategic position as the Confluence State to attract investment and promote growth.
Other dignitaries who delivered remarks at the event included the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Nasarawa State, Mr. Damina John, as well as the Executive Director, Commercial and Industry Development at the North Central Development Commission (NCDC), Mrs. Aisha Rufai.
His Excellency Governor Dapo Abiodun, The Governor of Ogun State, has said that the state is on course to establish direct air links to the United Kingdom, following plans by Air Peace to commence flights from the Gateway International Airport to London this summer.
Abiodun, who spoke after an inspection of the airport alongside Air Peace Chairman, Allen Onyema, said the move reflects growing investor confidence in the state’s aviation infrastructure and economic direction.
According to him, the planned operations to Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport will open up Ogun State to increased trade, tourism and business travel, while easing pressure on existing international gateways.
“This airport was conceived to serve our people and support economic growth. What we are seeing now is that vision taking shape,” the governor said.
He added that cargo activities had already commenced at the airport, with projections indicating up to 50 cargo flights between April and year-end, a development expected to support exporters and manufacturers within Ogun and neighbouring states.
The Governor the state noted that discussions with multiple international and regional operators were ongoing, positioning the airport as a viable alternative for passenger and cargo movement in the Southwest.
Onyema, in his remarks, said Air Peace decided to key into the project after assessing the quality of infrastructure at the facility.
“This is one of the best-equipped airports in Sub-Saharan Africa. We will deploy our Boeing 777 aircraft for the London route because the runway and facilities can support it,” he said.
The inspection followed the recent commissioning of the airport by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. With the planned London operations and growing cargo traffic, Abiodun expressed confidence that Gateway International Airport would strengthen Ogun State’s position as a key economic hub in Nigeria.
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