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FG, Katsina govt advance power projects, renewable energy plans

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Katsina State is pursuing a two pronged approach to improving its electricity infrastructure, with the Federal Government launching a 120MVA transmission substation in Mashi and Governor Dikko Umaru Radda announcing progress on a proposed 10megawatt renewable energy project.

The initiatives featured on Friday as the Minister of Power Engineer Joseph Olasunkanmi joined state government officials and other stakeholders for the groundbreaking ceremony of the transmission facility in Mashi Local Government Area. The substation is expected to be completed in March 2027.

The Mashi project is part of three transmission substation projects approved for Katsina by the Federal Government. The investment is intended to expand the state’s transmission capacity and improve the infrastructure needed to deliver available electricity to communities and economic centres.

Speaking at the ceremony, Olasunkanmi said the facility would be equipped with two 60MVA transformers, giving it a combined capacity of 120MVA. This represents approximately 96 megawatts of active power at a power factor of 0.8

The minister explained that strengthening the transmission network was important for supporting economic activities, particularly among farmers, traders, artisans and small businesses whose operations depend on electricity. He noted that improved infrastructure could also contribute to better household welfare and create conditions for increased productivity.

Olasunkanmi attributed the project to the Federal Government’s commitment to power sector development under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, commending the president for supporting investments aimed at strengthening critical infrastructure across the country.

On implementation, the minister disclosed that compensation related issues affecting the project had been resolved. He called on the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the contractor and supervising engineers to ensure that construction proceeded efficiently and met the required technical standards.

He said the March 2027 completion target required close attention to workmanship, safety and quality at every stage, from civil engineering works to equipment installation and testing.The minister also urged residents to protect the facility and cooperate with personnel working on the site.

Beyond the federal transmission project, Radda used the occasion to provide an update on Katsina’s renewable energy plans, announcing that components for a proposed 10MW hybrid power project combining wind and solar energy had arrived in Nigeria.

The governor said the initiative was being pursued through collaboration between the Federal Government and the Katsina State Government. The project is expected to add a renewable energy component to ongoing efforts to improve the state’s electricity infrastructure.

Gov Radda expressed hope that the minister would return to Katsina for the commissioning of the hybrid project alongside the completion of the transmission substations, highlighting the importance of sustained cooperation between both tiers of government in addressing the state’s energy needs.

The governor also acknowledged President Tinubu’s approval of three transmission substation projects for Katsina, describing the investments as significant for the state’s development. He reaffirmed his administration’s readiness to work with federal institutions to advance projects with tangible benefits for residents.

He further pointed to the railway project connecting Kano, Daura and Katsina, with a proposed extension to Maradi in the Republic of Niger as another major infrastructure undertaking with potential implications for transportation, trade and regional economic integration.

The Mashi substation in particular, is designed to improve transmission capacity rather than independently generate additional electricity.

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Military kills 15 terrorists in Borno air strike

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The Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), has recorded another operational success with the neutralisation of 15 terrorists in a precision air strike north-west of Pulka in Gwoza LGA of Borno State.

A statement by the Acting Military Information Officer, Headquarters Joint Task Force (North East) Operation HADIN KAI, Captain Mohammed Goni, on Saturday, noted that the operation was conducted at about 11:50 p.m. on 23 October 2026, following credible intelligence and confirmed sightings of terrorist movements in the general area of Pulka.

According to the statement, the precision strike was subsequently followed by ground operations to exploit the area and consolidate the operational gains.

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Mbah urges youths to embrace acquire relevant skills

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The Governor of Enugu State Barr. Peter Mbah have charged the youth in Enugu State to embrace innovation, develop their knowledge, acquire relevant skills and also see themselves as participants in building the future.

Mbah disclosed this in his keynote address at the 20th anniversary of the pleasant gathering international, 2026 public symposium with theme “,Building sustainable communities through leadership, service and innovation”. 

Gov Mbah represented by the Commissioner for youth and Sports Enugu State Barr Lloyd Ekweremmadu, emphasized that Enugu State government recognized that a sustainable development must be given to the youth, that is why the administration invested in schools, teachers, technology and experiential learning.

He pointed that the most general infrastructure any society can build is in human capacity of his people. According to him “The New experiential learning that is been put in place is to ensure that young people are not just embarking on having certificate but learning in a way that they will be impactful in the society. 

“Education in Enugu today, is to help the young ones to think, create, innovate, solve problems and be productive to the society. Our aspirations must be to raise a generation of young people who are not merely consumers of what others created, but who possesses confidence and knowledge to create solutions in a world that we live.

“Our young ones should not be treated merely as beneficiaries, waiting for government or societies to provide opportunities for them. They should be recognized as products of development, innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders in their world,” he said.

He however encourage the convener of pleasant gathering international to remain committed to young people, continue building partnership and translate their vision into measurable impact.

A federal high court Justice in Enugu State, Hon Justice Mabel Seun-Bello speaking on “leadership, accountability and transparency” advice youth to first of all discover their potentials and develop it. 

She encouraged them to have confidence in their potentials, saying that confidence breeds competent. She noted that leadership means someone building himself or herself. According to her. “A leader cannot build others when he or she is not built. You cannot build institutions, when you are not contended to be built. You cannot transform organisation, if you are unwilling to be transformed.

“Personal success breeds public success. For someone to succeed in life, it requires personal transitions, which includes, identifying your potentials, personal success, by focusing in building that potentials you have discovered, specialisation on your potentials and purposeful impact.

The president of the Pleasant gathering international, Barr Joy Ogbonnaya earlier in an interview with Journalists said that her passion as the convener of pleasant gathering international is to impact and bring massive transformation among the youth and they have not failed. It is seen in the life of the youth in the state and beyond.

According to her, “Pleasant gathering international is an international partnership organization in consultative statutory with the United Nations. In this 20th anniversary, the public symposium is aimed at building community leadership, services and innovation. Which is actually what has kept us in the view.

“If we are able to raise youths who are fully focused with purpose, then we are getting closer to have a better leadership, if not the best,” she said. However she called on individuals, government, health professionals, employers, training institutions and donors to support, heip and shape the young ones and the communities.

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Induction: IG suspends training of reinstated officers

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The Inspector-General of Police has ordered the immediate suspension of the ongoing six-month induction course for reinstated senior police officers following a ruling by the National Industrial Court.

The directive, contained in a police wireless message dated September 25, 2026, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent on Friday, ordered the affected officers to vacate the training premises at the Police Staff College, Jos, with their personal effects.

The message, addressed to the Police Staff College, Jos, and the National Institute of Police Studies in Abuja, and copied to the office of the Inspector-General of Police, stated that the suspension was in compliance with a recent court judgment.

“INGENPOL directs you to temporarily suspend ongoing six-month induction course for reinstated senior officers,” the message partly read.

“All course participants to vacate premises with their personal effects with immediate effect.”

The order followed a ruling delivered by Justice Buhari Sani of the National Industrial Court, Abuja, on September 28, 2026, in suit number NICN/KN/51/2026, filed by the Advocacy for Human Rights and Cultural Values for Development Initiatives against the Inspector-General of Police and five others.

In the ruling, obtained by our correspondent on Friday, the court set aside an ex parte order it had granted on September 22, which restrained the police authorities and the Police Service Commission from implementing the reinstatement of Cadet Assistant Superintendents of Police from Courses 18, 19 and 20.

The court also struck out the motion ex parte dated September 18, describing it as lacking merit and constituting an abuse of court process.

Justice Sani said the earlier order was granted on a “misapprehension of the true state of affairs” and following the applicant’s failure to disclose material facts concerning an existing judgment on the reinstatement of the officers.

The judge explained that the decision being challenged was not merely an administrative action but the subject of a subsisting judgment of the National Industrial Court in suit number NICN/ABJ/28/2025, which had been affirmed by the Court of Appeal.

“The presence of a subsisting judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction fundamentally alters the legal landscape,” the judge held.

He added that where a decision being challenged was the execution of a valid and subsisting judgment, the court could not restrain its implementation as though it were an unlawful administrative act.

“The real urgency contemplated by law was therefore absent,” the judge said, adding that the applicant had failed to establish that the subject matter of the suit was at risk of destruction.

The court further held that the applicant was under an obligation to make full and frank disclosure of all relevant facts when seeking an ex parte order.

“The failure of the applicant to disclose the existence of the judgment in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/28/2025 and its affirmation by the Court of Appeal is a material non-disclosure that strikes at the heart of the ex parte order,” the judge ruled.

The reinstatement of the affected officers followed an earlier judgment concerning the regularisation of their dates of first appointment and the application of Section 18(8) of the Police Act, 2020, which addresses the maximum years of service and retirement age of police personnel.

In a letter dated July 31, 2026, the Force Secretary, Assistant Inspector-General of Police Bode Akinbamilowo, conveyed the Police Service Commission’s decision on the regularisation of the dates of first appointment of Assistant Superintendents of Police and inspectors who entered the Force through the cadet system.

The letter stated that the affected officers had previously been retired following a Police Service Commission decision in January 2025 but had their retirements reversed in compliance with the National Industrial Court’s judgment in suit number NICN/ABJ/28/2025.

The Inspector-General subsequently directed the affected officers to report to the Police Staff College, Jos, for a six-month induction course.

The list of affected officers attached to the July 31, 2026, letter included Assistant Inspector-General of Police Owohunwa Idowu and AIG Benneth Chinedu Igwe, both of Cadet ASP Course 19 of 1996, as well as Deputy Commissioner of Police Simon Asamber Lough of Course 20 of 2000.

The officers were among those previously retired but reinstated following the judgment of the National Industrial Court in suit number NICN/ABJ/28/2025.

According to the annexure, Owohunwa was born on July 20, 1970, and appointed into the Force on August 15, 1996, while Igwe was born on October 7, 1968, and appointed on the same date.

Lough was born on May 14, 1969, and appointed on May 1, 2000. The document listed their retirement dates by age and length of service, respectively, as July 20, 2030, and August 15, 2031, for Owohunwa; October 7, 2028, and August 15, 2031, for Igwe; and May 14, 2029, and May 1, 2035, for Lough.

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