By BANNERNEWS Reporter
Former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, will chair the 23rd edition of the Daily Trust Dialogue, scheduled for Thursday, January 22, 2026, at the NAF Conference Centre and Suites, Abuja.
The organisers, Media Trust Group, said the annual high-level forum will this year interrogate the theme, “Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: What is Working and What is Not,” against the backdrop of over two decades of uninterrupted democratic governance since 1999.
A statement signed by the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed I. Shekarau, disclosed that Saraki, a former two-term governor of Kwara State, has accepted to preside over the dialogue, bringing to bear his extensive experience in governance, legislation and public policy.
Saraki served as governor of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011, represented Kwara Central Senatorial District from 2011 to 2019, and was President of the Senate between 2015 and 2019, making him one of the most influential political figures of the Fourth Republic.
Before venturing fully into politics, the Waziri Ngeri of Ilorin trained and practised briefly as a medical doctor in the United Kingdom, having obtained his MBBS degree from the London Hospital Medical College, University of London, in 1987, and worked at Rush Green Hospital, Essex.
He later transitioned into banking and public finance, serving as a director of the defunct Société Générale Bank before his appointment in 2000 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as Special Assistant on Budget.
The statement further announced that the Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, will attend the event as Special Guest of Honour, adding traditional authority and statesmanship to the dialogue.
Oba Ladoja, who was crowned the 44th Olubadan in September 2025, previously served as governor of Oyo State between 2003 and 2007, and represented Oyo South Senatorial District during the short-lived Third Republic from 1992 to 1993.
A graduate of chemical engineering from the University of Liège, Belgium, the monarch also boasts a long private-sector career, having worked for over a decade with Total Nigeria before investing in shipping, manufacturing, banking, agriculture and transportation.
Media Trust Group noted that the 23rd Daily Trust Dialogue will be a multi-layered engagement, preceded by a countdown featuring special production, publication and broadcast of curated content reflecting defining moments of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.
The forum is expected to draw political leaders, policymakers, academics, professionals, industry players and other stakeholders from within and outside government to dissect governance outcomes and democratic performance since 1999.
Organisers also confirmed that the event is open to members of the public, in keeping with the Dialogue’s tradition as a platform for inclusive and robust national conversation.
Established in 2004, the Daily Trust Dialogue has, over the years, hosted eminent Nigerian and African leaders, and remains Media Trust Group’s flagship contribution to policy discourse, democratic deepening and sustainable socio-political and economic development in Nigeria and across Africa.
