The Federal Government has moved to end the theft and vandalism of public infrastructure through tighter regulation of Nigeria’s scrap metal industry.

The Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, said the proposed 2026 Scrap Metal Regulations would sanitise the sector, protect critical national assets and boost local steel production.

Audu, represented by the Director, Metallurgical Raw Material Development and Investment Promotion Department, Ime Eprikpo, spoke at a two-day stakeholders’ engagement on the validation of the draft regulations, held in Lagos.

He said the proposed Scrap Metal (Collection, Trading, Recycling and Regulation) Regulations would establish a transparent and sustainable value chain capable of supporting Nigeria’s industrialisation drive.

The minister identified scrap metal as a critical raw material for steel production, foundry operations and other manufacturing activities, noting that effective recycling would reduce waste, create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

He, however, warned that poor regulation had encouraged the theft of electrical cables, railway components, manhole covers and other metallic infrastructure, resulting in disruption of public services, safety risks and huge economic losses.

According to him, the proposed regulations would introduce licensing and supervision of operators, regulate collection and aggregation centres, ensure transaction traceability and enforce environmental and occupational safety standards.

“Our objective is not to suppress legitimate commercial activity. Rather, it is to establish a system in which lawful businesses can operate with greater clarity and confidence, while activities involving stolen materials, unsafe practices or environmental harm are addressed through appropriate regulatory and legal measures,” he said.

Audu stressed that small-scale operators would not be excluded from the regulatory framework, explaining that requirements would be tailored to the size and risks of their businesses.

He called for stronger supplier identification, verification of material sources, reliable transaction records and collaboration with security agencies to check the illegal acquisition and trading of stolen metals.

The minister urged stakeholders to make practical contributions towards ensuring that the proposed regulations were workable and addressed the challenges confronting operators.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Amb. Nura Abba Rimi, represented by the Director, Metallurgical Inspectorate and Environmental Protection Department, Christopher T. Wanje, said effective regulation of the scrap metal industry was critical to building a competitive and self-sustaining steel sector.

He said the regulations would curb illegal metal trading, protect public infrastructure and guarantee reliable raw materials for domestic steel production.

In his goodwill message, the National President of the National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria, Comrade Pastor Engr. Ogbu Luke Uchechukwu, described the engagement as a landmark development that would lay the foundation for an organised and economically viable industry.

Similarly, the Director-General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr Innocent Bariate Bariko, represented by the Deputy Director, Base Metal Sector, Engr. Walter Okoye, warned that inadequate regulation could expose the environment and public health to serious risks.

He commended the ministry for initiating the proposed regulatory framework.

Also, the Business Manager of Kam Steel Integrated Company Ltd, Busari Olanrewaju, described scrap metal as the backbone of Nigeria’s steel industry.

He pledged the company’s support through the training of scrap collectors, standardised grading procedures, modern sorting and shredding technologies, and increased use of locally generated scrap materials in domestic steel production.

The management of the Anambra State Traffic Management Agency, ATMA, has suspended some of its officers for two months without pay after they went viral recently for singing a campaign song in support of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi, and his running mate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.

According to report, the management announced the suspension of the officers on Tuesday.

The sanction followed the controversy generated by a viral video showing the officers singing an NDC campaign song associated with the political aspirations of Obi and Kwankwaso to a motorist.

The incident reportedly occurred at Nwagu Agulu Junction, where the officers were deployed for traffic control duties.

The officers had earlier been summoned to the agency’s headquarters in Awka to explain their conduct and the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Their two-month suspension without pay is believed to be the outcome of the disciplinary process initiated by the agency following the circulation of the video.

Although the circumstances surrounding the officers’ action remain unclear, there had been suggestions that their singing might have been prompted by the NDC logo they reportedly sighted in the motorist’s car.

The development has reportedly thrown the affected officers into distress, with some expressing fears about their future following the disciplinary action.

It was gathered that some of the affected officers had been weeping and approaching influential personalities who could intervene on their behalf and appeal to the relevant authorities for leniency.

Meanwhile, relatives of the affected officers have appealed to public-spirited individuals to come to their aid by helping them secure alternative employment opportunities in view of their present circumstances.

The relatives reportedly fear that the suspension, particularly without pay, could worsen the economic situation of the affected officers and their families.

The incident has also raised questions about the extent to which public officers can freely express their political preferences, particularly when such expressions occur while they are performing official duties.

While public servants retain their constitutional rights as citizens, the regulations governing their respective agencies may restrict partisan political activities, especially when carried out in official uniforms or during working hours.

However, it remains unclear whether the two-month suspension was specifically imposed for breaching ATMA’s operational regulations or for other reasons connected with the incident, report said.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained to the Federal High Court in Abuja why it excluded Ogun State PDP candidate Mr Ladi Adebutu from its list of candidates cleared for the 2027 general elections.

In a counter-affidavit deposed to by Mr Mustapha Mohammed, a Chief Program Analyst in its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department, the Commission told the court that Adebutu’s name was not found in the register of members the PDP earlier submitted to it.

It told the court that it found only the name of the PDP’s deputy governorship candidate in the state, Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi, in the register.

INEC’s counter-affidavit was in opposition to a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2573/2026, which the PDP and its Ogun State governorship candidate, Adebutu, filed against it.

While the PDP is the 1st plaintiff in the matter, Adebutu is listed as the 2nd plaintiff, with INEC named as the sole defendant.

It will be recalled that INEC had omitted Adebutu’s name from the final list of 13 candidates cleared to contest the Ogun State governorship election billed for February 6, 2027.

Dissatisfied with the action, the PDP approached the court for an order compelling INEC to reverse its decision by recognising Adebutu’s candidacy.

However, in the process it filed to challenge the competence of the suit, INEC said it had done due diligence before the final list of candidates for the election was published.

According to the deponent, “I know as a fact that before the Governorship Candidates Final List was published, the ICT department conducted a search on the membership register submitted by the 1st plaintiff and during the search, the ICT department found the name of the 1st plaintiff’s candidate fielded as Deputy Governor of Ogun State (Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi) in the register but could not find the name of the 2nd plaintiff.

“The search was also conducted to find a possible match for the name of the 2nd plaintiff, but no possible match was found in the Ogun State membership register.

“That I know as a fact that all the queries conducted on the membership register in the flash drives (PDF/read only) submitted to the defendant by the 1st plaintiff do not contain the name of the 2nd plaintiff.

“That the flash drive attached to the plaintiff’s affidavit and further affidavit in support of the Originating Summons was shown to me and I have carefully examined it, and I state that the contents of the flash drive are not the same as those submitted to the defendant.

“That the first flash drive submitted by the 1st plaintiff to the defendant on 22 April 2026 had files named Ogun 01-038, while the second flash drive submitted to the defendant had files named Ogun 01-04, with serial numbers of members 1–18,973 and 1–19,308 respectively.

“That serial number 1536 on the membership register submitted by the 1st plaintiff to the defendant contains the name of one Lugboso Sunday Seun and not the name of the 2nd plaintiff,” INEC’s witness further averred.

It told the court that two flash drives were submitted to it alongside the hard-copy membership register, and neither contained the name and particulars of the 2nd plaintiff, Adebutu.

Following the adoption of final addresses by the parties, Justice Peter Lifu fixed Friday for judgment.

Meanwhile, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), Arabambi Abayomi, has alleged a plot to compromise the court into bypassing the Supreme Court judgment that activated Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and compelled INEC to exclude political parties that failed to comply with Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, in relation to the fielding of candidates.

Abayomi, in a statement he made available to newsmen, further accused the Ogun State PDP candidate of perjury, alleging that he made false claims in an affidavit he deposed to in support of the suit against INEC.

“The specific serial number Adebutu swore belonged to him—Serial Number 1536—actually belongs to one Lugboso Sunday Seun. INEC’s searches of the authentic registers found no match for Adebutu’s name whatsoever.

“For a litigant to approach the Federal High Court and swear to an affidavit containing demonstrably false particulars is perjury.

“It is an affront to the administration of justice. The evidential weight against Adebutu is not merely unfavourable, it is devastating,” Abayomi stated.

Besides urging the Attorney General of the Federation to initiate an investigation into the alleged perjury, he called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to look into the alleged plot to influence the outcome of the case.