Today’s Headlines: Obi and I Remain Friends Despite Political Differences — Soludo; FG disburses N75bn to 104 manufacturers, N65.8bn to MSMEs

𝗢𝗯𝗶 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 — 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗼

Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has said he has no personal rift with former governor Peter Obi, describing their relationship as cordial despite disagreements over political and economic issues.

Soludo said this in an interview with BBC News Igbo, on Monday, explaining that both families maintained close relationships but had different political interests.

“Peter Obi and I are good friends. Our two families are on good terms. His wife gave birth to my child in the divine water, my wife gave birth to his child in the confirmation. But when it comes to politics, give me mine, give him his. It’s politics that is being done,” the governor said.

He maintained that their political differences did not affect their personal relationship, adding that both men had supported different candidates during the Anambra governorship election.

The Federal Government has fully disbursed the N75 billion Manufacturing Sector Fund to 104 manufacturing businesses, while N65.8 billion has been disbursed to 15,018 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to boost domestic production, expand businesses and create jobs.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, disclosed this in an address on “Harnessing Nigeria’s Economic Potential for Greater Prosperity”.

Oduwole said the interventions were part of the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen local industries, improve productive capacity and drive sustainable economic growth.

The disbursements were made under the Federal Government’s N200 billion intervention package, managed by the Bank of Industry (BoI), to support businesses, boost domestic production and create jobs.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has raised concerns that 57 Nigerian professionals working in four Nigerian-origin banks in The Gambia could lose their jobs following a directive by the country’s central bank to replace certain foreign employees with Gambian nationals.

The Chairman of NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, raised the concern in a statement shared on her X handle on Tuesday, describing the directive as “deeply worrisome”.

The statement follows a circular issued by the Central Bank of The Gambia on September 16, 2026, directing commercial banks operating in the country to replace non-Gambian employees who are not covered by approved expatriate quotas with qualified Gambian nationals by December 31, 2026.

Political tension is mounting in the Ogbomoso zone of Oyo State following the suspension of two local government chairmen within 24 hours over alleged financial impropriety, amid questions about the political undertone of the unfolding developments ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Chairman of Oriire Local Government, Olateju Michael Alabi, was suspended by councillors of the council on Monday, while his counterpart in Surulere Local Government, Isaiah Adegbite, who is serving his second term in office, was also suspended by the legislative arm on Tuesday.

The two suspensions, carried out by the legislative councils of the respective local government areas, were reportedly based on allegations of financial impropriety.

However, details of the allegations against the affected chairmen remained sketchy as of the time of filing this report.

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