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Army Chief Flags Off Combat Swimming Competition to Enhance Efficiency in Riverine Operations
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, has flagged off Nigerian Army Inter Formation Combat Platoon Swimming Championship at the National Stadium, Surulere in Lagos, where he tasked participants to take advantage of the Championship to enhance their fighting efficiency to conduct operations optimally, especially in riverine and amphibious terrains towards fulfilling NA’s constitutional mandate.
A statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, revealed that the COAS, who was represented by the Commander, Corps of Nigerian Army Engineers, Major General Kamil Kadiri, gave the charge during the flag-off ceremony of the championship, reiterating that the NA places high premium on qualitative training of its personnel across board, in furtherance of the vision of the COAS, to have “A professional Nigerian Army Ready to Accomplish Assigned Missions within a Joint Environment in Defence of Nigeria”.
He added that the championship would enhance combat proficiency of troops deployed for operations in maritime environment.
The Army Chief urged participants to strive to bring out their best in the championship, as their efforts and preparation for the competition will translate to relative ease in the conduct of ongoing and future operations. The COAS commended 81 Division for selecting the National
Stadium Surulere and Badagry for the Championship, as both locations will provide realistic and ideal standards, with all requisite features for training of this nature.
Earlier, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division NA, Major General Obinna Ajunwa in his welcome address, reiterated the emphasis placed on training by the NA.
He expressed optimism that the championship would strengthen the swimming skill of NA personnel.
The championship is a five day competition that will be conducted in two phases. The first phase will be the conventional swimming phase at the National Stadium, Surulere, while the second phase is the combat swimming at the brown water in Slave Village, Badagry. The participants were drawn from eight Divisions across NA formations in the country.
These include 1,2, 3, 6, 8, 81and 82 Divisions, as well as Army Headquarters Garrison. They will keenly compete for laurels in different categories of swimming exercises.
The Federal Government has directed civil servants working within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja to work from home on Friday, March 27, 2026, ahead of the national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The directive was contained in a circular issued and signed by Abdul Garba, Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, for the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
According to the circular, access roads leading to and around the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phases I, II and III, will be closed from Friday, March 27, to Saturday, March 28, 2026.
“All Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments, Agencies and Offices located within the Federal Secretariat, Phases I, II & III are hereby informed of the closure of all access roads leading to and around the said Federal Secretariat Complex, from Friday, 27th to Saturday, 28th March, 2026,” the statement read.
The government said the decision was due to the use of Eagle Square for the APC national convention.
“This is due to the use of Eagle Square for the National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Party on the said dates,” the circular stated.
It added that workers in affected offices should stay off-site on the specified day.
“Accordingly, all personnel whose offices are located within Phases I, II and III of the Federal Secretariat Complex as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are to work from home on Friday, 27th March, 2026,” it added.
The government also directed heads of ministries, departments, and agencies to ensure compliance.
“All concerned Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Agencies are kindly requested to bring the content of this Circular to the attention of their staff, and ensure strict compliance,” the circular stated.
The directive comes as the APC prepares to hold its national convention at Eagle Square, Abuja, an event expected to bring together party leaders, delegates, and supporters from across the country.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has approved the timetable for its nationwide congresses and National Convention.
The approved timetable is as follows: Polling Unit and Ward Congresses – Tuesday, 7 April 2026; Local Government Area Congresses – Thursday, 9 April 2026; State Congresses – Saturday, 11 April 2026; National Convention – Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
The meeting also approved the presentation of two separate reports submitted by the ADC Policy and Manifesto Committee and the Constitution Review Committee for ratification at the forthcoming national convention.
On the outcomes of the meeting, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the meeting also accepted the two reports earlier submitted to the National Working Committee (NWC) by the committees headed by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and Etigwe Uwa (SAN), respectively.
He said the NEC meeting, fully attended by members and representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), approved all the memoranda presented by the ADC National Chairman, Senator David Mark.
Abdullahi said the guidelines for the congresses have already been published and the forms have been distributed across the country, adding that “All members will receive them. And those who are aspiring to contest for various positions of the party will have the opportunity to do so.”
He stressed that the congresses were fixed to elect new officers at the ward/polling unit level, the local government level, and at the state level, adding that “The nomination fees, the expression of interest fees have been duly stated.”
While announcing the dates, he said: “The polling unit and award congresses will come up on the 7th. The local government congresses will come up on the 9th. The state congresses will come up on the 11th. And the national convention here in Abuja on the 14th.”
The ADC spokesman said the forthcoming convention was not elective but to ratify all the decisions that had been taken by the previous NEC and the NWC.
“The National Convention is for the purpose of ratifying earlier decisions that have been taken. It is not an elective convention per se. It is not to elect new officers of the party, and it is not primaries. It is to ratify positions that have been taken by the NEC and the NWC. So, it is not to elect new officers of the party, and it is not to elect candidates for the party.
“Every decision that has been taken by the National Working Committee and the NEC of the party in between the last convention will be ratified at the next convention.”
He said the convention committee had been set up, but added that the National Organising Secretary, Prince Chinedu Idigo, would provide detailed information.
On the committees’ reports, Abdullahi added that “one of the key conclusions of the NEC meeting is to accept the report of the Committee on Policy and Manifesto. And that relates to the policy position of the party and the report of the Constitutional Review Committee.
“The reports submitted to the National Working Committee were formally presented to the National Executive Committee of the party. And the NEC received those reports which will now go to the National Convention on the 14th,” he added.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the ADC National Chairman, Senator Mark, said the second NEC meeting came at a critical moment when Nigerians across all walks of life are yearning for purposeful leadership, equity, justice, and a government that truly serves the people.
He stressed that unity within the party was non-negotiable, saying “Recent developments have shown that while challenges may arise, our collective will to remain focused and united is stronger than any divisive tendencies.
“We must therefore close ranks, deepen consultation, and reinforce confidence in our leadership and processes. Let me use this opportunity to thank our state chairmen who have chosen the path of dialogue and consultation in spite of all odds. Together, we can salvage Nigeria.”
Mark said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has shown incompetence.
He said, “Unfortunately, these ills are now the new normal. They (APC) have shown that they are incapable of arresting the situation.
“Our party, the ADC, must rise up to the occasion to address these ills. We are prepared to do things differently and make Nigeria a better and safer society.
“Distinguished members, the journey ahead may be demanding, but with unity, discipline, and commitment, victory is assured. Let us remain steadfast and resolute.”
MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank (MMPSB), Nigeria’s leading payment service bank, has announced that it has further enhanced its mobile banking application to improve the order flow for its airtime and data products to improve customer experience.
For airtime, the Moneymaster mobile banking app now has an enhanced visual appeal, thus, providing customers with a cleaner, and more modern interface that streamlines account selection, denomination selection and a dynamic input validation. For its data products, the new interface organizes data into logical tabs of hot, daily, weekly, monthly, exclusive and special. In addition, each data now clearly displays data volume, validity period in a bold easy-to-read format. These changes will now enable customers to find airtime and data plans in a simplified and faster manner without expending more time on scrolling.
Furthermore, the mobile banking app users can now buy lower denominations of airtime such as N200, N500, N1000, N2,000, N4000. Also, the categorisation of the telco products has been re-ordered to ensure ease for customers in selecting their preferred products.
The company’s Head of Business, Tajudeen Omokhide, noted that MoneyMaster’s “mission is to transform payments into an agile experience, capable of moving with the speed and transparency of a fintech. Our customers expect simple, fast and transparent solutions at an affordable cost.
“These recent upgrades on mobile banking app is a testament to our relentless efforts to ensure that our customers experience is top notch and aligns with their needs. We encourage our customers to upgrade their mobile banking app whilst new customers can download the app from android playstore or IoS app store.”
All customers of the bank will enjoy 100% bonus on their airtime recharges on Glo airtime purchased. Data customers will similarly enjoy 10% bonus on every Glo data recharges. This is to attract new customers and reward the existing ones.
Mr Omokhide further stated that the suite of new products “marks an important step towards the bank’s vision of offering market-relevant and customer-centric products”.
Moneymaster, promoted by Globacom, is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a payment service bank. The bank operates mobile wallet, savings account, individual current account as well as business banking accounts. It also vends airtime and data and makes it easy for customers to pay their bills to more than 4,000 billers on its banking platform.
