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JUST IN : President Tinubu Emerges ECOWAS Chairman
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has emerged as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
“We will take democracy seriously, Democracy is very tough but it is the best form of government,” he said upon his emergence on Sunday in Guinea-Bissau.
Tinubu succeeds President Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau as ECOWAS chair.
Tinubu’s emergence was announced at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.
The 63rd Ordinary Session summit was the first engagement of the President within the African continent since he assumed office on May 29, 2023.
Tinubu, who is the latest entrant into the exclusive club of Heads of State in West Africa, pledged to bear the responsibility of the office and run an inclusive administration of the regional organisation.
The Nigerian leader, however, warned that the threat to peace in the sub-region had reached an alarming proportion with terrorism and an emerging pattern of military takeover that now demand urgent and concerted actions.
He said insecurity and creeping terrorism were stunting the progress and development of the region.
Tinubu called for a collective action from member-states, pledging that under his leadership, frameworks would be harmonized to actualise the dreams of ECOWAS.
“On peace and security, the threat has reached an alarming level, and needs urgent actions in addressing the challenges. Indeed, without a peaceful environment, progress and development in the region will continue to remain elusive. In this regard, we must remain committed to the utilisation of all regional frameworks at our disposal to address the menace of insecurity,” Tinubu said, according to a statement by his spokesman, Dele Alake.
The President noted that ECOWAS had developed a security architecture, which “covers a wide range of areas that involved kinetic and non-kinetic operations, including preventive diplomacy. There is also the Regional Plan of Action on Fight against Terrorism 2020-2024 as well as the operationalisation of the ECOWAS Standby Force on Fight Against Terrorism.
“I will ensure that we immediately harmonize these plans and mobilize resources as well as the political will towards the actualisation of the initiatives. As terrorists do not respect boundaries, we must work collectively to have an effective regional counterterrorism measure,” he further stated.
While decrying the emerging pattern of coup d’etat in West Africa where soldiers have truncated the popular mandate, Tinubu charged ECOWAS to stand firm in defence of democracy.
“We must stand firm on democracy. There is no governance, freedom and rule of law without Democracy. We will not accept coup after coup in West Africa again. Democracy is very difficult to manage but it is the best form of government.
“There is no one here among us who did not campaign to be a leader. We didn’t give our soldiers resources, we didn’t invest in them, in their boots, in their training to violate the freedom of the people. To turn their guns against civil authorities is a violation of the principles upon which they were hired, which is, to defend the sovereignty of their nations. We must not sit in ECOWAS as toothless bulldogs,” the President warned.
As the world celebrate this year’s World Environment Day today,the Ogun State Waste Management Authority OGWAMA as urged residents of the States to keep their environment clean and stop indiscriminate dumping of waste in public places and imbibe proper waste disposal.
Special Adviser to the Governor and Managing Director of the Ogun State Management Authority OGWAMA, Honorable Farouk Akintunde stated this in a statement to mark the 2026 World Environment Day.
He said indiscriminate dumping of waste in public and unauthorized places breeds untidy, unhealthy environment which are inimical to public safety and retard economic growth of the society.
Akintunde also advised them to imbibe proper waste disposal by patronizing Waste PSP assigned to their immediate community for proper waste disposal for just a token instead of them to use the cover of the night to dump them in discriminately on the median,roadsides and public places which he says deface the aesthetic beauty of the State.
“Ogun state residents are known as clean and fun-loving people.We should not allow few of us to dent our pride through their untoward attitudes and behaviors,so when we see them dumping indiscriminately in our environment we should say something”
“We will on our part continue to do our best in terms of proper waste management through sensitization and advocacy as we urge all residents to containerize their waste for easy collection by government accredited PSP”
”For industries domiciled in the state, let me remind them of the need to allow government accredited PSP assigned to them to perform their statutory duties instead of patronizing illegal PSP which will attract sanction when they are caught by our enforcement team as OGWAMA will not allow them to turn the state to dumpsites for illegal industrial waste some of which are not environmentally friendly” Akintunde added.
He did not forget to remind all residents of the State that Ogun State Waste Management Authority will step-up it enforcement activities in all nooks and crannies of the state to maintain a clean,safe and healthy environment .
June 5th, Transfermarkt updated. The new market values of Barcelona players. Three players increased and nine decreased, with Raphinha dropping by 10 million to 70 million euros.
Increase (Euros)
Joan-Garcia increased by 5 million to 45 million
Eric-Garcia increased by 5 million to 40 million
Gerard-Martin increased by 10 million to 35 million
Decrease (Euros)
Raphinha decreased by 10 million to 70 million
Kounde decreased by 5 million to 60 million
Balde decreased by 5 million to 50 million
De Jong decreased by 10 million to 35 million
Casado decreased by 2 million to 18 million
Christensen decreased by 1 million to 8 million
Cancelo decreased by 1 million to 8 million
Lewandowski decreased by 1 million to 7 million
Szczesny decreased by 100,000 to 800,000
Unchanged (Euros)
Yamal 200 million
Pedri 150 million
Fermin 100 million
Cubarsi 80 million
Olmo 60 million
Ferran Torres 50 million
Rashford 40 million
Gavi 30 million
Bernal 30 million
Araujo 20 million
Bardghji 15 million
Singer Niniola Apata has opened up about her late husband, Michael Ndika, and the central role he played in her music career and personal life.
Speaking in a video at a gathering held in his honour, Niniola recounted how their relationship shaped her growth as an artist and as a person.
Ndika, CEO of African music platform NaijaReview, died on May 19, 2026 at 44.
She said he was her strongest supporter from day one even when she considered stepping away from music, he pushed her to continue.
According to her, Ndika believed in her talent and vowed to make her a star.
Niniola described their bond as inseparable, stressing how he was part of her daily routine and her main source of emotional support. Since his death, she said, her life has changed completely.
She thanked his family for embracing her and admitted that coping with the loss has been hard.
Reflecting on their marriage, she called it a love story.
She said Ndika gave her everything and lived for her and while she was the face and voice of her brand, he was the engine behind it.
She said: “My story with Michael is a love story. Michael did everything for me. Everything was for me, he was breathing for me. He loved me, I loved him so much. And I learned so much from Michael. But Michael met me raw, and he said, I’ll make you a superstar.’ And he did. I was just the face and the voice, but Michael was the engine.
“Even when I decided to, you know, give music a break, he didn’t let it. The first person I saw in the morning was Michael. And the last person who closed my eyes at night was Michael. So now what do I do? Tell me, what do I do? Michael was the best thing, the best person that ever happened to me.”
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