News
Another scares! Gunmen target Otti, days after Ngige’s ‘assassination’ attempt
Tuesday came with fresh scare in the South East, this time concerning Alex Otti, following earlier reports that gunmen launched an attack on the convoy of the Governor of Abia State, few days after a similar attack on Chris Ngige, former Governor of Anambra State.
But it turned out that Tuesday’s incident, which was said to have taken place near the Owerri Airport in Imo State only involved the advanced team of the governor – elected on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023.
Reports, quoting Fred Chukwuelobe, ex-spokesman to Ngige, Senator formerly representing Anambra Central and former Minister of Labour and Employment, had detailed how a policeman attached to the pilot car of the influential politician who was said not to be in the convoy, was shot and his gun and uniform taken away by the suspected assailants who were dressed in police and army uniforms, adding that though none of the policemen in the convoy was killed, except a lady making video of the event, who was fatally shot.
Chukwuelobe, wrote: “Unfortunately, a lady who was recording the shooting was fatally shot by the gunmen. A shop owner who raced to find out what was happening was also shot, but he only lost a lot of blood and will be operated upon soon to remove the bullets. He is expected to make full recovery. The pilot car was riddled with bullets.
“No policeman was killed and the escort leader who was shot has been operated upon and is expected to make full recovery. The shop owner was lucky as the bullets didn’t lodge in his spine. I just got of the phone with His Excellency and he confirmed the development, promising to do all he can to ensure that those injured receive adequate treatment. He also commiserated with the family of the unfortunate lady who was killed while videoing the scene. The police in Anambra State is yet to issue an official statement on the incident.”
In a similar incident, Otti, was also not in the convoy, according to the account of Ukoha Njoku, his spokesman, who clarified that attack which happened along the road leading to the Sam Mbakwe airport, Owerri, only involved his advance party.
Ukoha, Otti’s Press Secretary, said in a statement, that an advance team of three members from the office of the governor from the Government House, Umuahia, who were on duty at the Sam Mbakwe airport, Owerri, were attacked by yet to be identified gunmen between Umuowa and Ihitte junction, on their way to the airport.
Part of the statement, read: “In the early hours of today, December 2nd, an advance team of three members from the Office of the Executive Governor of Abia State, His Excellency Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, on duty at Sam Mbakwe Airport, Imo State, was attacked by unidentified gunmen.
“The incident occurred between Umuowa and Ihite junction, shortly before the Sam Mbakwe Airport Junction in Imo State. The general public is hereby informed that the convoy of Governor Otti was not involved in this attack, and no lives were lost during the unfortunate incident.”
Jim Ovia, one month after exit as Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, is lunging into the real estate business, in search of the “mega bucks,” with the price tag of one of his first proposed luxury apartments in Lagos put at $2.8million (N3.8billion).
The iconic banker and largest shareholder of the bank reputed to be the biggest in Nigeria, with branches spreading across Africa and beyond, was quoted in a report on ARISE NEWS Television as saying that the property sector offered better returns than banking.
The report said the 74-year-old would commence with the Quantum Luxury Properties Ltd. – a two high-end residential projects in Lagos – housing a 26-storey Metropolitan Towers, with an expected unit price starting from $1.85 million, and the 44-unit Quantum Luxury Towers, going as high as $2.8 million starting price.
The accomplished banker, who left his post as Chairman after a 12-year-two-term stint allowable by law was said to have unveiled the plan during an interaction at his office at Civic Towers in Lagos.
There, Ovia reportedly told his visitors that both projects were already attracting strong interest from buyers and had already recorded significant sales, adding: “Real estate is more profitable than banking. I’m moving into real estate full-time.”
The report, while citing trends in the luxury property market in Nigeria’s main commercial centre now known as a mega city, maintained that it had continued to attract wealthy investors seeking protection from inflation, currency depreciation and limited investment alternatives, also quoted experts in the industry to back up the assertion.
Citing the confirmation of Diya Fatimilehin & Co., Nigeria’s foremost estate surveying firm, the report stated that rental prices in Lagos’ luxury districts of Banana Island, Ikoyi and Victoria Island rose by 51 per cent between 2024 and 2025, reinforcing demand for premium real estate.
It however quoted Jubril Enakele, Chief Executive Officer of IRON Capital Partners and a former executive within Zenith’s investment banking operations, as saying that Ovia’s interest in the sector predates his latest move.
“Mr. Ovia’s interest in real estate started much earlier than just now,” Enakele was quoted as saying, adding that the focus on design, infrastructure and asset quality of the retired banker had long been evident in projects associated with the banker.
Ovia stepped down as chairman of Zenith Bank on May 5 after completing the maximum 12-year tenure allowed by regulators. While he remains the bank’s largest individual shareholder, his departure marks the end of a leadership era at the institution he founded in 1990 with an initial capital base of about ₦20 million.
Under his leadership, Zenith Bank grew into Nigeria’s largest lender by market value and one of the country’s most profitable financial institutions. The bank recorded profits exceeding ₦1 trillion in both 2024 and 2025.
Beyond banking, Ovia has built a portfolio of investments that includes Civic Centre and Civic Towers in Lagos, the sale of Visafone to MTN Group, and an early investment in Moniepoint.
“The most disturbing aspect of the financial management fiasco under Bola Tinubu is that there is no explanation or information regarding how the balance was utilised or deployed.”
These were the exact words with which Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 presidential election bemoaned the umpteenth time, the penchant of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to embark on inexplicably, reckless borrowing.
Obi, who had been consistent in questioning the hunger for foreign loans by the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC), right from the years of President Muhammadu Buhari, was aghast that the incumbent, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had surpassed the previous government without anything to show for it.
Using his X platform, Obi, who bemoaned the situation where Nigeria’s total public debt had bloated to about N200 trillion under Tinubu’s administration, representing an increase of more than N100 trillion within three years, demanded explanations for what he called the government’s lack of transparency in the utilisation of the borrowed funds.
Stressing how the Tinubu’s accumulated debt had significantly outstripped that of Buhari, the former Governor of Anambra State, lamented that the current debt burden had become a major concern for Nigerians already struggling with economic hardship, inflation and declining purchasing power.
Hear him: “President Bola Tinubu’s administration has engaged in remarkably imprudent borrowing, escalating Nigeria’s total debt to approximately N200 trillion.
“This represents an increase of over N100 trillion within a mere three years, a stark contrast to the roughly N49 trillion accumulated during President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure.
“As millions of Nigerians grapple with the shock of this unsustainable debt accumulation, the situation is exacerbated by the government’s reckless approach to borrowing and a profound absence of accountability and transparency in the utilisation of these funds.”
Citing figures from the Federation’s Budget Office, claiming that the federal government borrowed N11.89 trillion between January and September 2025, exceeding its planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion for the period, he argued that such an overrun should ordinarily trigger scrutiny and explanations from relevant government institutions.
He contended that only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was committed to capital projects during the same period, representing what he described as a small fraction of the amount budgeted for infrastructure and development programmes, adding that the discrepancy between the volume of borrowing and actual capital expenditure raises serious questions about the destination and utilisation of the funds.
Challenging the government to provide a detailed account of the spending of the funds, insisting that Nigerians deserved full disclosure on how public resources were being managed, he said: “The question that Nigerians are rightly asking and deserve an answer to is what happened to the balance?”
Adewole Adebayo, candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), in the 2027 presidential election has raised the red-light signal, warning Nigerians to be up in arms against the proposals for a single six-year presidential term at the National Assembly.
Warning that the move was not only a distraction from the country’s more pressing challenges, but could portend a sinister outcome in future, the lawyer and economist, who appeared as a guest on ARISE NEWS Television on Wednesday, insisted that electoral integrity and effective governance should be Nigeria’s primary focus.
He told his host that the real issue confronting Nigeria was not the length of time elected officials spent in office, but whether leaders emerged through free, fair, and credible elections that truly reflect the will of the people.
Hints to the new proposal was served through Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Leader who said he had plans to sponsor a bill seeking to introduce a single six-year tenure for presidents and governors, to enable elected officials focus more on governance rather than re-election campaigns.
But joining other Nigerian’s suspicious of the move as a red flag, Adebayo said: “It’s a distraction. These are all idle talks. A six-year term, a four-year term—that’s not the problem. The problem is that you have to have a system that works.
“You have to have a political system where the voter decides the winner, where nobody watches INEC as if you are watching a secret society, and where political parties raise ideas and raise new people. So, my focus, as we are heading towards the future, is that we must, once and for all, kill the demon of rigged elections. We must, once and for all, allow the voter to vote. So, the issue of how long you stay in power and all of that is irrelevant; it’s what you do when you get there.
“I think the present system of four years – and if you are good enough, you go for another four years – is good enough if the people who are actually going to the government are going there only by winning a free, fair, and credible election. We should focus on that now.”
It was also a day he cried out about the attempts of fifth columnists to introduce crisis into the party, citing the parallel presidential candidates within the SDP, which he said was sponsored, adding that genuine members were unperturbed by the development.
Hear him: “We are not bothered by that. It’s the normal staple. So, I think the burden is on INEC to try not to waste its time on that and to follow the law. What we can have is a set of political parties competing on a set of ideas, and the media moderating for all of us so that we can have equal hearing. Then, Nigerians can now decide to lay their bed the way they want to lay on it when the time comes.”
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