The regent head of Ijebu Ode and co-founder of EKO Hospital, Lagos State, Dr Sunny Kuku, and the Special Assistant to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Youth Development, Pastor Okikiola Fayomi, have both urged President Bola Tinubu to help actualise the long-held dream of the creation of Ijebu State.

Kuku, who is also the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebu land and the acting Awujale, alongside Okikiola, who doubles as the National President of the Ijebu Youth Association, made the plea while addressing journalists during the 2025 International Youth Summit, Empowerment, and Award Programme.

The event, with the theme: “Youth empowerment for a new era: Catalysing the great creation of Ijebu State,” was held at Ijebu-Ode.

Represented by Dr Yemi Kuku, the renowned physician said in a statement on Sunday from the media office of the youth organisation, signed by Okikiola, that although the agitation for Ijebu State had spanned several decades, the people remained hopeful that President Tinubu would finally make it a reality.

“We have been promised in the past that we shall get it, but it all ended there. We are, however, hoping that this is our time, and I have no doubt about that.

“There is hope that we shall get it under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, who has been doing fantastically well with the management of the affairs of our nation.

“We have that assurance that the dream of having Ijebu State will be realised under this present administration by the special grace of God,” he said.

Kuku also urged the youth to serve as catalysts for excellence and to shun any acts that could jeopardize their future.

Similarly, Okikiola said that several leaders, beginning with the late Senator Abraham Adesanya, had fought for the creation of Ijebu State but failed due to disunity between Ijebu and Remo people.

He stressed that the time had come for both groups to speak with one voice to achieve their common goal.

He explained that all Ijebu and Remo youths had been sensitised and now united in their resolve not to miss the opportunity.

“We are appealing to President Bola Tinubu to please help with the creation of Ijebu State, because it remains the only province among 24 provinces created over 100 years ago that is yet to metamorphose into a state.

“So, we are appealing to our hardworking President to help correct this imbalance. It is a dream that we are quite optimistic will be a reality under President Tinubu.

“We are also appealing to the entire National Assembly to please support the bill for Ijebu State creation to come to limelight,” he said.

Okikiola noted that the youth had earlier held a rally around Ijebu-Ode to mobilise support and cooperation from all stakeholders to ensure that the dream finally came to fruition.

The Founder of Eyes Foundation Hospital, Dr Kunle Hassan, represented by Yusuf Adesanya, commended the youth group for championing empowerment and urged them to refrain from social vices.

Highlights of the event included the distribution of empowerment tools to the youth, with a call on them to embrace vocational training and pursue entrepreneurial ventures to create wealth and reduce unemployment.

Recall that former governor and senator representing Ogun East, Gbenga Daniel, recently alleged that some indigenes of the state were collaborating with outsiders to frustrate the agitation for the creation of Ijebu-Remo State out of the present Ogun State.

Daniel, who is sponsoring the bill for the new state in the National Assembly, warned that such internal sabotage could derail years of collective struggle and the dream championed by the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona.

“From what I have gathered, each geopolitical zone may not get more than one new state.

“In the South-West, we have competition from our Ibadan brothers, who are also demanding their own state. Our only advantage is that, of all the provinces created in 1923, only the Ijebu Province, which comprises nine local governments, has yet to become a state,” Daniel said.

He expressed concern that “some of our people, perhaps because of temporary benefits, are working with outsiders to sabotage this dream,” adding that, “We are short of calling them bastards.”

Daniel stressed that the proposed Ijebu-Remo State, with its capital in Ijebu land, would correct historical imbalances and accelerate regional development and political representation.

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The President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Muhammad Suleiman, has faulted the Federal Government’s claim that it is releasing N11.9bn within 72 hours for the payment of outstanding arrears and allowances to doctors and other health workers across the country.

Suleiman, who spoke exclusively with The PUNCH on Sunday, said only about N500m of the said amount is meant for resident doctors.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had on Saturday announced in a statement signed by its Deputy Director and Head of Information and Public Relations, Alaba Balogun, that the government would release N11.9bn for the payment of arrears, including accoutrement allowance, as part of measures to address the welfare concerns of doctors and restore industrial harmony in the health sector.

The ministry’s statement came amid a nationwide strike by resident doctors, who on Saturday withdrew their services across 91 federal and state tertiary hospitals over unpaid arrears, delayed allowances, and other welfare-related issues.

However, reacting to the ministry’s claims, Suleiman said both the 25–35 per cent arrears and the accoutrement allowance are longstanding entitlements that date back over two years and belong to all categories of health workers, not just doctors.

“The 25–35 per cent arrears have been pending for over two years and belong to all cadres in the health sector, including those in the Ministry of Health, its agencies, and even administrative staff. The total bill for that review was supposed to be N48bn, but government said it’s N41bn. In August, they released N10bn; two weeks ago, another N10bn; and last week, N21.3bn, totaling N41bn. Out of that, the portion that goes to all doctors is about N11bn, and resident doctors get less than N10bn since we are about 60 per cent of all doctors.

“It’s only N6bn that was agreed to be released in 72 hours, not N11.9bn. I don’t know where they are bringing N11.95bn from. We don’t know any N11.9bn. What we agreed with the Federal Government is that N2.9bn will be released within 72 hours for accoutrement allowance, and even that accoutrement is for all doctors.

“Out of that N2.9bn, about N500m is coming to resident doctors. Another N2.4bn is for consultants non-clinical duty allowance, and N400m is for other health workers as COVID-19 arrears. So the total is about N6bn, not N11.9bn,” Suleiman explained.

He insisted that the accoutrement allowance was not a new intervention, but an old entitlement owed to doctors,not just resident doctors.

“Some of these arrears have been there for over two years; it’s not peculiar to doctors alone. It covers everyone in the health sector, including administrative staff,” he stated.

He accused the ministry of generalising payments to create the impression that government had met all of NARD’s demands.

“From what I know, only about N500m of what is being released affects resident doctors directly,” he noted.

On the dismissal of five doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, which the ministry said was under review by a government-appointed negotiator, Prof. Dafe Otobo, the NARD President noted that the association was not consulted and had no knowledge of the process.

“We don’t know the professor they mentioned. We don’t know the criteria he is using or the documents he has been given. Those five doctors were all union leaders. They were targeted because of their union activities,” he said.

He added that the association had only requested the reinstatement of the affected doctors, not litigation.

“We didn’t want to litigate the issue. We only asked the Ministry of Health to reinstate them. Even the ministry admitted that some of them were terminated without due process, yet they are talking about review again. There are more questions than answers,” Suleiman said.

He also challenged the ministry’s claim on recruitment figures, demanding transparency and accountability.

“They said 20,000 health workers were recruited last year and another 15,000 this year. They should give you the breakdown of how many are doctors, how many are nurses, and where are they now? Those are the pertinent questions.

“The ministry should address the root issues raised by the association. That press release tries to make doctors look ungrateful and greedy, as if all we want is money. But our issues go beyond financial matters. We have 19 outstanding demands, many of which are administrative and can be resolved with a single memo,” he said.

Suleiman, however, commended the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy,  Wale Edun, for his swift response to the financial aspects of the doctors’ grievances.

“I must appreciate Mr. Wale Edun. He took charge immediately, and issues on his table are being addressed. But the Ministry of Health is a different story. Their language and attitude show they’re not genuinely interested in resolving these problems,” he said.

The NARD president appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the matter.

“We are calling on the President to speak to those in the Ministry of Health. Just as he directed the Minister of Finance to handle his side of the problems, we are pleading that he ensures the health ministry genuinely engages us and resolves the issues on their table,” he added.

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The Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, Kaduna State Chapter, has faulted the decision of the United States government under President Donald Trump to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern”  over the alleged persecution and killing of Christians.

The council described the designation as unfair, biased, and reflective of a one-sided narrative that ignores the complex nature of Nigeria’s security challenges.

It also criticised the Christian Association of Nigeria, accusing it of promoting false narratives of religious persecution that have deepened divisions and inflamed tensions.

Trump had, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, claimed that Christianity was facing an “existential threat” in Nigeria, accusing radical Islamists of orchestrating the “mass slaughter” of Christians across the country.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern,’” Trump wrote.

The U.S. president also directed Congressmen Riley Moore and Tom Cole, alongside the House Appropriations Committee, to investigate the situation and report back to him.

The move has sparked nationwide debate, with some Christian groups welcoming the decision, while Muslim organisations, including the SCSN, rejected it as biased and politically motivated.

In a statement issued in Kaduna on Saturday, the Secretary of the Council, Hassan AbdulRahman, said the U.S. decision was “unjust” and failed to consider the realities on the ground, noting that Nigeria’s security crisis was driven largely by ethnic, political, and economic factors rather than religion.

“The council is not happy with this development regarding allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria,” Abdul Rahman said. “The Trump administration should have sought a balanced perspective before jumping to conclusions.”

He argued that portraying Nigeria as a country where Christians are systematically persecuted was misleading and damaging to the nation’s image.

According to him, both Christians and Muslims have suffered from terrorism, banditry, and communal clashes.

“By statistics, it’s clear that Muslims are mostly the victims in various instances,” he said. “Attributing these tensions solely to religion oversimplifies the realities and undermines national unity and peace.”

AbdulRahman accused Western nations — particularly the U.S. — of showing selective empathy, saying international concern tends to rise only when Christians are victims, while violence against Muslims attracts little attention.

“Wherever Muslims are killed, it doesn’t concern the West or the U.S.,” he said. “They always highlight issues affecting Christians while remaining silent on violence against Muslims. This bias breeds distrust and alienation among Muslim communities.”

The council also tackled CAN for its insistence that there is Christian genocide in Nigeria.

The council said, “To CAN, who initiated these lies, they should know that when Nigeria sinks — may Allah forbid — it’s all of us that will bear the brunt,” Abdul Rahman said. “Christians, Muslims, and even pagans will not be spared.”

AbdulRahman stressed that Nigeria’s problems could only be resolved through mutual understanding and cooperation, not through foreign interference or internal mistrust, urging Nigerians to resist attempts by external powers to sow discord.

“Let us not allow foreign lies to divide us,” he added. “Through understanding, dialogue, and cooperation, Nigeria can overcome its challenges and build a peaceful future for all.”

AbdulRahman also urged the Federal Government to take a firmer diplomatic stance on the issue, insisting that mere statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were insufficient.

“Our position is clear — we strongly condemn this decision by the U.S.,” he said. “The government must do more than issue statements. Stern action must be taken, even if it means reviewing or cutting diplomatic ties, to show the gravity of the situation.”