United Nations (UN) Calls For Swift Release Of Kidnapped School Staff, Students In Nigeria

By Ighomuaye Lucky. O

The United Nations (UN) has called for an immediate and quick action to secure the release of students and teachers abducted by armed groups in Nigeria, stressing that schools must be protected as safe environments for learning and development.

The appeal was made in Abuja by Mr. Malick Fall, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, during a meeting with a delegation from the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre led by its Commandant, Dr. Samuel Umanah.

The discussions centered on recent incidents of school abductions, as well as ongoing efforts to support affected families, schools, and communities in Oyo and Borno states.

Fall expressed concern over the ongoing captivity of the victims and strongly condemned the violence, noting that two teachers had already been killed during the incidents.


He further said the attacks highlight the growing risks facing children, teachers, and educational settings across the country.

According to him, protecting children’s right to access education in a secure and dignified setting must remain a national priority.

He urged authorities to fully implement the Minimum Standards for Safe Schools, strengthen emergency response systems, and adopt data-driven strategies to improve school security.




“We are deeply saddened that these school children and their teachers are still being held by armed groups.


“Schools must remain safe havens for learning and not places of fear. Children should never be a target. These incidents underscore the urgent need to strengthen the protection of children, educators and learning spaces”, Fall said.



While acknowledging the efforts of government authorities and security agencies, the UN official urged stronger and more coordinated action to secure the safe and swift release of all abducted students and teachers.


He also urged authorities to ensure that the perpetrators of the attacks are brought to justice and to reinforce measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

STOP THE CIRCULATION OF THE MANIPULATED SUCCESSFUL CONGRESS LIST: AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP OF LABOUR PARTY OGUN STATE CONGRESS CRIES OUT

Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA -- The Labour Party, Ogun State Secretariat, wishes to set the record straight regarding the successful Congress held at the Ogun State Labour Party Secretariat on April 25th, 2026.

It has come to our attention that an unauthorized and substituted list containing erroneous names is currently being circulated to the public and media. This act is false, misleading, and intended to cause confusion within the party and among stakeholders.

For clarity and official record, the authentic and duly elected officers of the Congress are:

Chairman: Apagun Olaolu Samuel

Secretary: Tosin Ogunbamiro

Any other names being paraded as Chairman and Secretary of the April 25th Congress are fake, null, and void. They do not represent the will of the delegates nor the outcome of the congress.

We view this deliberate act of substitution as a criminal case of *conspiracy, forgery, and perjury*. The perpetrators of this dastardly act will be made to face the full weight of the law. Legal action will commence and the matter is already before the legal team.

The Labour Party remains committed to due process, transparency, and the rule of law. We urge party members, the media, and the general public to disregard the list as it was doctored to satisfy the convenience of few against the results of the Congress as monitored and observed by the INEC, Police and the DSS.

Signed,  

Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

*Ogun State Labour Party Secretariat*

Architect Dr Peter Agada on the Labour Institute of Nigeria

DR PETER AGADA 

An Institute for the Propagation and Development of the True Policies and Ideology of the Labour Party as It Currently Runs World Over_

1. MANDATE & VISION

The Labour Institute of Nigeria is established as a non-partisan policy, research, and leadership development institution dedicated to institutionalizing the core ideologies of the global labour movement within Nigeria’s democratic framework.

Modeled after the intellectual architecture that sustains Labour Parties in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other established democracies, the Institute’s mandate is to move labour politics beyond electoral cycles into permanent systems of governance, policy design, and social contract renewal.

2. CORE FUNCTIONS

The Institute operates through four pillars, drawing direct parallels with UK Labour’s ecosystem:

Pillar Function UK Equivalent

Policy Development Unit; Researches and drafts legislation on wages, decent work, social protection, industrial policy, and public services. Converts labour congress resolutions into actionable government blueprints. Labour Party Policy Forum + Resolution Foundation

Ideology & Political Education;  Develops curriculum and training for aspirants, elected officials, and union leaders on social democracy, collective bargaining, and wealth redistribution. Codifies the Nigerian Labour Charter. The Fabian Society + Socialist Educational Association

**Systems & Governance Lab; Designs internal party systems for candidate selection, ward administration, and digital democracy. Ensures transparency, anti-corruption, and zoning compliance with constitutional law. Labour Party NEC + Constitutional Arrangements Committee

International Labour Bureau** Interfaces with ILO, TUC UK, ITUC, and sister Labour Parties to domesticate global best practices on just transition, gig economy, and worker ownership. Labour International + Labour Party International Office

3. HOW IT DIFFERS FROM A REGULAR POLITICAL PARTY

A political party contests elections. The Labour Institute builds the intellectual and institutional scaffolding that makes labour governments possible and successful.

1. Policy Continuity: While party leadership may change, the Institute maintains a 20-year National Labour Development Plan covering health, education, housing, and industrialization.

2. Leadership Pipeline: Through the _LabourDirect Fellowship_, it trains 8,809 ward coordinators annually in budget analysis, community organizing, and parliamentary procedure.

3. Evidence-Based Politics: Publishes the _Annual State of Nigerian Labour Report_ using NBS, ILO, and NLC data to set national discourse, similar to the UK’s _Institute for Public Policy Research_.

4. Ideological Custodianship: Prevents policy drift by maintaining the _Labour Red Book_ — a codified set of non-negotiable principles on privatization, minimum wage, and public ownership, akin to Clause IV of the UK Labour Party Constitution.

4. THE UK MODEL: PRECEDENT FOR NIGERIA

In the United Kingdom, the Labour Party’s durability rests not just on unions, but on institutions like:

1. The Fabian Society : Drafted the original welfare state proposals that became the NHS and council housing.

2. The TUC Economics Department: Provides shadow cabinets with costed manifesto alternatives each election cycle.

3. Labour Together & Policy Network: Think tanks that stress-test policies for electability and fiscal credibility.[1884]

The Labour Institute of Nigeria adapts this tripartite model: Movement + Research + Governance. It ensures that when labour candidates win, they inherit tested systems, not empty manifestoes.

5. CURRENT PROGRAMMES 

a. #LabourDirect Platform: Digital ward congress system with 12,047 verified member endorsements, ensuring bottom-up candidate legitimacy.

b. Local Government Charter: Standardized service delivery benchmarks for all LIN-elected LGA Chairmen on primary healthcare, schools, and market infrastructure.

c. Just Transition Commission: Designing Nigeria’s framework for oil-sector decarbonization without mass job losses, in partnership with NUPENG and PENGASSAN.[2026]

6. RELATIONSHIP WITH ORGANIZED LABOUR

The Institute is accountable to the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress through an annual _Labour Policy Conference_. NLC and TUC occupy 40% of Board seats, ensuring that policy originates from workers, not consultants.

Conclusion

The Labour Institute of Nigeria exists to answer one question: _What happens the day after a labour candidate wins?_ By building systems, training leaders, and codifying policy, it ensures that labour ideology translates into schools built, wages paid, and industries revived. It is the bridge between protest and governance.

Nigeria's NLC, TUC, TMN to unveil the Labour Institute

From Idu Jude, Abuja

AGADA 

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and The Movement Nigeria (TMN) have concluded plans to unveil the Labour Institute of Nigeria with the aim of propagating and developing the true policies and ideology of the Labour Party as it currently runs worldwide.

The joint body also announced that it will soon hold a candle-lit rally for the kidnapped children in Ibadan, Oyo State, to drive home demands for an end to insecurity in Nigeria and the failure of the government to protect citizens.


Dr Peter Agada, founder of The Movement Nigeria (TMN) and former presidential aspirant of the Labour Party (LP), in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun in Abuja on Tuesday, highlighted that the project is designed to be a long-term, policy- and ideology-driven institute for the propagation of labour ideology and principles to be applied as the driving mentality of the Labour Party of Nigeria.

He added that it is an institute for the propagation and development of the true policies and ideology of the Labour Party as it currently runs the world over.

“Let me clarify that the Labour Institute of Nigeria is established as a non-partisan policy, research, and leadership development institution dedicated to institutionalising the core ideologies of the global labour movement within Nigeria’s democratic framework.


“It is modelled after the intellectual architecture that sustains Labour Parties in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other established democracies; the Institute’s mandate is to move labour politics beyond electoral cycles into permanent systems of governance, policy design, and social contract renewal.”

While detailing the core functions of the institute, he noted that the institute operates through four pillars, drawing direct parallels with the UK Labour ecosystem.

The pillar function, equivalent to the UK’s ‘policy development unit’, researches and drafts legislation on wages, decent work, social protection, industrial policy, and public services. It is also aimed at converting Labour Congress resolutions into actionable government blueprints.

Furthermore, Dr Agada said the idea is to enshrine Labour Party Policy Forum resolutions—a foundation built on ideology and political education to develop curriculum and training for aspirants, elected officials, and union leaders on social democracy, collective bargaining, and wealth redistribution. “This codifies the Nigerian Labour Charter, according to the Fabian Society Socialist Educational Association.”

The upcoming system, in his view, is also to serve as a Governance Lab designed to pioneer internal party systems for candidate selection, ward administration, and digital democracy, ensuring transparency, anti-corruption, and zoning compliance with constitutional law.

“This will also serve as a blueprint for the Labour Party NEC constitutional arrangements committee

The International Labour Bureau interfaces with ILO, TUC UK, ITUC, and sister Labour Parties to domesticate global best practices on just transition, gig economy, and worker ownership. Labour International, and the Labour Party International Office.”




While differentiating the new process from political party contests or elections, he said, “The Labour Institute builds the intellectual and institutional scaffolding that makes labour governments possible and successful. On policy continuity, while party leadership may change, the Institute maintains a 20-year National Labour Development Plan covering health, education, housing, and industrialisation.”




The policy is designed to have a leadership pipeline through the Labour Direct Fellowship. It has the capacity to train about 8,809 ward coordinators annually in budget analysis, community organising, and parliamentary procedure.




While running evidence-based politics, it will publish the annual State of Nigerian Labour Report using National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), ILO, and NLC data to set national discourse, similar to the UK’s Institute for Public Policy Research.




Dr Agada maintained that the required results would bring ideological custodianship, which prevents policy drift by maintaining the Labour ‘Red Book’—a codified set of non-negotiable principles on privatisation, minimum wage, and public ownership, akin to Clause IV of the UK Labour Party Constitution.




Consequently, in the United Kingdom, the Labour Party’s durability rests not just on unions but on institutions like the Fabian Society, which drafted the original welfare state proposals that became the NHS and council housing.




The TUC Economics department provides shadow cabinets with costed manifesto alternatives each election cycle. Additionally, Labour Together and Policy Network are think tanks established in 1884 that stress-test policies for electability and fiscal credibility.




The Labour Institute of Nigeria adapts this tripartite model: Movement plus Research plus Governance. It ensures that when labour candidates win, they inherit tested systems, not empty manifestos.




“It is a digital ward congress system with 12,047 verified member endorsements, ensuring bottom-up candidate legitimacy. It is a standardised service delivery benchmark for all LIN-elected LGA Chairmen on primary healthcare, schools, and market." infrastructure.


“It is also designing Nigeria’s framework for oil-sector decarbonisation without mass job losses, in partnership with NUPENG and PENGASSAN.”


Further highlighting the plans, Dr Agada remarked that the Institute is accountable to the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress through an annual Labour Policy Conference. The NLC and TUC occupy 40 per cent of board seats, ensuring that policy originates from workers, not consultants.

LANDMARK ACHIEVEMENT AS OGUN LABOUR PARTY CLOSE RANKS TO PRESENT UNIFIED CANDIDATES

Mojisola O. Àjàyí

ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE — In a show of political unity, the Ogun State chapter of the Labour Party closed ranks in the late hours of April 30th 2026, to present a joint consensus slate after marathon negotiations that stretched through the night of April 30th from 3:00 pm in the evening.

The protracted, energy-sapping meeting held in Abeokuta saw the two major divides within the party set aside differences to forge a single front ahead of this election cycle. 

After hours of consultations, the party announced Mrs Mojisola O. Àjàyí as its consensus governorship candidate. Other key positions on the ticket were also filled through the same consensus agreement, though the party said full details of the slate would be released after official documentation is perfected..

Party leaders described the outcome as a “landmark achievement” for the Labour Party in Ogun, noting that the decision to present unified candidates was reached after protracted, energy sapping long hours of meeting that lasted till late night. 

“This is what democracy looks like when interests are subordinated to the collective good,” a senior party chieftain said. “We went in as factions, we came out as one family with Mrs Mojisola O. Àjàyí leading the charge.”

Political observers say the unified presentation removes a major source of tension within the Ogun Labour Party and positions the party to campaign with one voice. The consensus arrangement is expected to strengthen the party’s structure across the state’s 20 local government areas while they synergize to strategies and develop an action plan to kick out the incumbent political party out of governance.

Mrs Àjàyí, a grassroots mobilizer, addressed the press after  Apagun Olaolu Samuel and Yeye Olubukola Aṣabi Soyoye jointly unveiled and presented her to the good people of Ogun State at an International Press Conference yesterday at Iwe-iroyin House, Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta.

MẸKUNNU KOYA: AN OPEN LETTER TO YORUBA SELF-DETERMINATION GROUPS — YORUBALAND MUST NOT FALL

To all Yoruba self-determination organisations and liberation movements: Oodua Youth Movement (OYM), Oodua People's Congress (OPC), Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM), Covenant Group, Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM), Federation of Yoruba Consciousness and Culture (FYCC), Oodua Republic Front (ORF), Oodua Youth Congress (OYC), Oodua Nationalist Movement (ONAC), OPC New Era, OPC Reform, Agbekoya, United Self Determination Platform (USEPO), Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM), and every other organisation committed to the defence, liberation, and advancement of the Yoruba nation, I salute you all.

I salute you individually and collectively as patriots whose vision has always been the protection of Yoruba interests, the preservation of our heritage, and the pursuit of genuine self-determination, whether through true federalism, regional autonomy, or any other democratic arrangement freely chosen by our people.

For decades, our mission has been clear: to defend our land, protect our people, resist oppression, and ensure that future generations inherit a homeland that is secure, prosperous, and free from fear.

Many have sacrificed for this cause. Some lost their liberty. Some lost their livelihoods. Some paid the ultimate price. Their sacrifices must not be forgotten, and their struggles must not be in vain.

Yet today, Yorubaland faces grave challenges. Across our communities, there are growing concerns about insecurity, violence, displacement, and the safety of our people. Many citizens feel abandoned by political leaders who appear more interested in power than in the protection of lives and property.

At this critical moment, division among those who claim to defend Yoruba interests is a luxury we can no longer afford. History has placed a responsibility upon our generation. We can either rise to meet that responsibility or be remembered as those who failed to act when their homeland needed them most. "Every generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it" Frantz Fanon admonished.

* This is not the time for factional disputes.

* This is not the time for organisational rivalry.

* This is not the time for personal ambition.

* This is the time for unity, vigilance, mobilisation, and collective action in defence of the welfare, security, and future of the Yoruba people.

The defence of Yorubaland is not the responsibility of a few organisations alone. It is the responsibility of every conscious Yoruba sons and daughters. Every citizen must decide whether to stand on the side of responsibility or on the side of indifference. History rarely remembers spectators kindly when nations and peoples face defining moments.

Our forebears faced enormous challenges and overcame them through courage, discipline, sacrifice, and unity. We must draw strength from their example and remain steadfast in our commitment to the survival and progress of our people.

* Let every Yoruba organisation close ranks.

* Let every patriot recommit to the cause.

* Let every community strengthen its resolve.

* Let every leader remember that the welfare and security of the people must come first.

The future of Yorubaland will not be secured by rhetoric alone. It will be secured by unity, organisation, vigilance, accountability, and unwavering commitment to the common good.

* The hour is late.

* The task is urgent.

* The responsibility is ours.

Let history record that when Yorubaland called, we answered.

Fatherland or Death !

By : MẸKUNNU KOYA POLITICAL BUREAU 01/06/2026* .