By Patrick Idowu

Recreational centres across Abuja recorded heavy turnout on Friday as residents trooped out to celebrate Valentine’s Day despite the prevailing economic hardship.

Cinemas, parks and malls including Genesis Cinemas, Silverbird Cinemas, Jabi Lake Mall and Central Park were filled with revellers seeking leisure and entertainment.

Movies showing included Behind the Scenes, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Friends Indeed and Love and New Notes.

Some residents said they chose to go out because Valentine’s Day comes once a year.

“We have to celebrate it no matter what,” said an Abuja resident, Mr KC. Another resident, Dave Johnson, who visited a cinema with his fiancée, said the day was meant for spending quality time with loved ones.

Others, however, described Valentine’s Day as overrated, insisting love should be shown daily and not limited to romantic partners.

Victoria Chukwu said the celebration should also extend to neighbours and vulnerable persons, while a nurse, Iweka Sharon, said she viewed it as “just every other day.”

The increased movement also boosted business for vendors and photographers around major recreational centres, with an ice cream seller noting unusually high patronage compared to previous years.

By Patrick Idowu

The Governing Council of the University of Abuja has refuted allegations that the institution diverted funds provided by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), for its students.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the council, chaired by Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso, said no NELFUND money was diverted, misappropriated or unlawfully withheld by the university or any of its officials.

The denial comes a day after NELFUND also dismissed the allegation and cleared the university of wrongdoing.

The statement, signed by the Acting Registrar and Secretary to the Governing Council, Malam Sambo Mohammed, said the university operates within established financial regulations and maintains strict accountability in managing intervention funds.

The council urged the public to disregard what it described as a misleading media report, while reaffirming confidence in the university’s management led by Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi.

By Samson Adeyanju 

The National Communications Director, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria and public affairs commentator, Rev. Fr Michael Nsikak Umoh, has described the Federal Government’s plan to power the Aso Rock Presidential Villa with a N17 billion solar mini-grid as a “vote of no confidence” in Nigeria’s national electricity grid.

In a write-up titled “A Vote of No Confidence: The Villa’s Exit as Nigeria’s Power Sector’s Ultimate Indictment,” Fr Umoh argued that the decision of the seat of power to disconnect from the national grid by March 2026 carries deeper political meaning beyond the official explanation of cost savings and energy transition.

He likened the development to a landlord abandoning a crumbling estate to retreat into a privately fortified penthouse, while tenants remain under a leaking roof, insisting that the move symbolises a government retreat from reform in a sector it regulates and supervises.

Fr Umoh recalled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign promise of December 22, 2022, in which he pledged to deliver constant electricity within four years and urged Nigerians not to vote for him again if he failed to do so.

According to him, the plan to “exit” the national grid three years into a four-year mandate weakens public confidence in the administration’s ability to deliver the promised expansion of electricity generation capacity to 15,000 megawatts.

He noted that Nigeria’s grid supply still fluctuates between 3,000 and 5,000 megawatts, describing it as a familiar range that has long represented the country’s energy stagnation.

Fr Umoh said the financial implications of the project also raise questions, especially as citizens continue to face increased tariffs under the Band A regime approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.

He argued that it would be difficult to persuade Nigerians to accept market-reflective pricing in the name of reform, while the Presidency prepares to withdraw from the same system it expects citizens to fund and endure.

The commentator further linked the development to the electricity sector’s liquidity crisis, recalling that in February 2024, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company issued a disconnection notice over unpaid obligations attributed to the Presidential Villa.

He said the shift to independent solar power appears less like environmental leadership and more like “structural secession,” warning that it risks reinforcing the long-standing “generator mentality” where elites self-provide electricity while the wider public remains trapped in unreliable supply.

While acknowledging that decentralised renewable energy systems are vital to Nigeria’s future, Umoh maintained that such models gain legitimacy when scaled inclusively, not when reserved for the political elite.

He cited the embedded generation model in Aba, driven by Geometric Power, as an example of how localised initiatives can improve electricity stability when backed by targeted reforms and proper management.

Fr Umoh also referenced estimates that Nigeria loses about $28 billion annually due to unreliable power supply, arguing that the scale of the problem requires systemic reform rather than insulation by government leaders.

“As 2027 approaches, memory will matter,” he warned, adding that disconnecting Aso Rock from the national grid before the administration’s electricity promise matures could become a lasting symbol of failure.

He said the solarisation of the Presidential Villa could still be reframed as a pilot for nationwide decentralisation if accompanied by transparent and accelerated reforms that improve supply for ordinary Nigerians, manufacturers and businesses.

However, he stressed that without such reforms, the project may be remembered as a moment the state appeared to “vote against its own promise.”