Karl Toriola, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, stands as the highest-paid CEO in Nigeria, with an annual compensation of ₦850 million in 2022. This figure translates to approximately ₦2.33 million per day, not ₦8.5 million as previously reported.

Toriola’s tenure at MTN Nigeria began in 2006 when he joined as Chief Technical Officer. Over the years, he has held various senior positions within the MTN Group, including CEO roles at MTN Cameroon and MTN Congo Brazzaville. Before his appointment as CEO of MTN Nigeria in October 2020, he served as Vice President for the West and Central Africa (WECA) region.

Under Toriola’s leadership, MTN Nigeria has experienced significant growth. In the first half of 2024, the company reported a 32.8% increase in revenue, reaching $927.07 million. This growth was driven by increased data consumption, voice traffic expansion, and fintech services.

Toriola’s compensation surpasses that of other top Nigerian CEOs. For instance, Michel Puchercos of Dangote Cement earned ₦736 million, and Baker Magunda of Guinness Nigeria received ₦505 million in 2022.

Despite assurances from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) that corps members’ monthly allowances would increase to ₦77,000 starting February 2025, the Federal Government has continued to pay the previous ₦33,000 stipend.

Multiple corps members reported receiving their February allowance on Friday night, only to find it unchanged at ₦33,000—less than half of the promised amount.

This contradicts the statements made in January by NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, who had publicly announced that the allowance increment was approved and would commence once the 2025 budget was passed.

He had assured corps members that by February, they would start receiving ₦77,000.  As of now, the Federal Government has not provided any official explanation for the failure to implement the increase.

With Nigeria’s inflation rate soaring and the cost of living rising, the ₦33,000 allowance is increasingly insufficient for corps members to meet their basic needs, including food, transportation, and accommodation.

A corps member serving in Oyo expressed disappointment, saying, “How do they expect us to survive on ₦33,000 when everything is expensive? They told us we would get ₦77,000 this month, and now they have failed again.”

Another corps member in Kano lamented that the delay in the allowance increment is yet another example of the government’s insensitivity to the struggles of young Nigerians. “We are serving our country, yet we cannot even afford decent meals.

The government knows that ₦33,000 is not enough, but they don’t care. They keep making empty promises while we suffer,” she said.

Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has explained why he rejoined the All Progressives Congress (APC) after previously leaving for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Sani initially left the APC in October 2018 due to disagreements over the party’s primaries. He later joined the PDP, where he secured a senatorial ticket but lost the 2019 election to Uba Sani, who is now the governor of Kaduna State.

On February 16, he officially returned to the APC along with some members of the PDP and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kaduna.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Hard Copy on Friday, Sani said his decision was influenced by reconciliation efforts led by the Kaduna State governor. “A lot of us left APC in 2018 due to certain issues, but those circumstances have now changed,” he said.

He recalled being a founding member of the APC in Kaduna, helping to build the party’s structures and campaign for the 2015 elections at both the senatorial and governorship levels. However, things happened between him and then-Governor Nasir El-Rufai, leading to his exit from the party.

“Our disagreements were political, personal, and related to state matters,” he explained. “Now, we have a new governor who has been reaching out, consulting, and trying to unify people across the state. After discussions, we agreed to return to the party we originally helped build in Kaduna.”