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These are not the best of times for the Director General of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Mr. Folorunsho Coker.

The embattled NTDC boss is yet again in the news for the wrong reasons. This time, he is enmeshed in a tug of war with staff of his agency at the headquarters in Abuja.

The NTDC staff yesterday picketed offices of the Corporation, carrying placards calling for his removal. The workers turned out in large number to voice their frustration at the unfriendly work environment in the Agency that has become the order of the day since Coker assumed office as DG.

Head of the NTDC staff union, Mr. Martins Ohiemi, said that staff members of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation are dissatisfied with the leadership style of Mr. Coker, insisting that he treats them like slaves.

The staff union alleged that Coker, since his appointment in April 2017, has been mismanaging the NTDC and running it like his personal business. The DG is said to have excluded the NTDC top management staff from all operational and management decisions since his assumption of duty.

In a letter written to the NTDC DG, and copied to the Minister of Information & Culture, Minister of Labour, the Inspector General of Police and the DSS, dated November 29th 2017 and signed by Comrade Sikiru Waheed, the Secretary of FCT Council of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Employees; the workers said they would picket the offices until Coker address their complaints.

A copy of the letter obtained by our reporter listed some of the grievances raised against Coker by the NTDC workers to include creation of project units to erode the functions of departments, deliberate denial of workers schedule of duty and Illegal recruitment of workers without regards to the guidelines on appointments and promotion.

They also listed unfriendly posture of the Director General leading to unhealthy working relationship, deliberate depletion of existing workers welfare package as well as refusal to conduct 2017 promotion exercise contrary to Federal Government circular directing MDAs to conduct promotion as at when due.

The letter ended with a prayer that, “it is our singular prayer that the issues raised above which has endemically eaten deep into the fabric of workers of NTDC should be reserved positively with immediate effect for the progress of NTDC and the workers”.
Meanwhile, Coker is said to be evasive and has not been coming to the office, since he got wind of the workers protest.

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NDLEA Seizes Lipsticks Stuffed With Drugs At Lagos Airport [VIDEO]

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Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered another batch of female lipsticks containing illegal drugs at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed this in a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) page on Sunday.

He also urged Nigerians, particularly women, to be extremely vigilant when purchasing or accepting beauty products, especially from unfamiliar sellers or dubious online platforms.

The statement read, Ladies beware! It does appear like female lipstick is becoming attractive as an instrument for concealment and trafficking now with yet another consignment of factory fitted female lipsticks stuffed with illicit substances intercepted at MMIA barely a week after @ndlea_nigeria officers uncovered a similar cargo at a courier company in Lagos.

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JUST IN: Former President Buhari Dies In London Clinic

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Former Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, passed away on Sunday.

His longtime media aide, Garba Shehu, confirmed the news in a brief statement issued on Sunday afternoon, stating that the former president died at a clinic in London.

Shehu’s message, distributed to the media, read:
“INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHIRRAJIUUN. The family of the former president has announced the passing on of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London. May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin.”

The statement concluded with the date: July 13, 2025.

Although the cause of death was not disclosed, Buhari, who held office from 2015 to 2023, had frequently sought medical care in the United Kingdom during and after his time as president.

Buhari, a retired Major General in the Nigerian Army, first led Nigeria as a military head of state from 1983 to 1985. Decades later, he was elected president through a democratic process. He made history as the first opposition candidate to unseat a sitting president in Nigeria.

Funeral plans have not yet been made public.

 

More to come…

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No Effective Governance Without Full Local Government Autonomy — Femi Gbajabiamila

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The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has stated that governance at the local government level cannot be effective without complete autonomy.

He made the remark while addressing journalists after voting in the Lagos State local government elections in Surulere on Saturday.

When asked about the progress of implementing the LG autonomy ruling by the Supreme Court one year after it was delivered, Gbajabiamila described the process as ongoing and said it would be completed with time.

Gbajabiamila said, “The ruling was welcome by everybody. It’s the execution of that ruling and the implementation of that ruling that we are still trying to dot the Is and cross the Ts.

“I believe in a matter of time, we will realise full autonomy. There cannot be effective governance without full autonomy. That’s what we are working toward.”

In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted autonomy to all 774 local government areas across the country following a case filed by the federal government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation. However, the ruling is yet to be fully implemented.

Following the judgement, the Senate urged state and local governments to immediately adhere to the court’s directive, especially regarding local government accounts and direct fund disbursements.

The Senate also moved to amend relevant sections of the Constitution to ensure full local government autonomy nationwide.

The announcement was made by Deputy Senate President Senator Jibrin Barau, after lawmakers emerged from a closed-door session where they discussed alleged efforts by some state governments to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 11.

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