Saraki, Olubadan to Headline 23rd Daily Trust Dialogue

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja 

A former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, will chair the 23rd Daily Trust Dialogue, scheduled to hold on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at the NAF Conference Centre & Suites in Abuja, a statement signed by Ahmed Shekarau, Chief Executive Officer of the Media Trust Group, said yesterday.

Themed: “Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: What is Working and What is Not”, the statement added that the former Kwara Governor, who also represented Kwara Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly from 2011 to 2019, will be presiding at the event with his wealth of experience spanning nearly three decades.

“Before venturing into politics, Saraki, the Waziri Ngeri of Ilorin, had worked as a medical officer at the Rush Green Hospital, Essex, United Kingdom, between 1988 and 1989 following his graduation from London Hospital Medical College, University of London, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 1987.

“He became a director of the defunct Société Générale Bank Ltd in 1990 and held the position until his appointment in 2000 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as Special Assistant on Budget,” the release noted.

According to the statement by the Media Trust Group, His Imperial Majesty, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, will serve as Special Guest of Honour at the Dialogue, where public figures within and outside the government will speak extensively on the theme of the event.

Ladoja, who was crowned the 44th Olubadan in September 2025, was governor of Oyo State from 2023 to 2007 and represented Oyo South in the Senate in the short-lived Third Republic between 1992 and 1993.

The monarch, a graduate of chemical engineering from the University of Liège, Belgium (1966–1972), has cognate experience in the private sector, having worked for 13 years at Total Nigeria in various positions,it stressed.

He started his private investment in 1985, venturing into shipping, manufacturing, banking, agriculture and transportation. He was installed as the Jagun Balogun in 1993, and became a director of Standard Trust Bank Limited in 2000.

Media Trust Group, the owners of Daily Trust, Aminiya, Trust TV, Trust Radio and Digital Trust, revealed in the statement signed by its CEO that the dialogue will be a multi-layered event, with a pre-event countdown which involves production, publication and broadcast of treasured contents on some of the most fascinating and dramatic moments of the Republic since 1999.

The high-level dialogue forum usually gathers political leaders, policymakers, industry players, academics, professionals and other critical stakeholders across Nigeria and Africa to dissect and provide valuable insights into pressing sociopolitical and economic issues. 

This year’s edition, according to the statement, is open for attendance to all members of the public.

DAILY TRUST Dialogue began in 2004 as a platform that primarily aims to stimulate discussions by Nigerians and other Africans as a catalyst for enhancing national and continental integration, as well as sustainable socio-political and economic development of our country and the continent at large.

The Media Trust Group, which gives extensive coverage to African issues, equally considers this symposium as its contribution to the search for useful social, economic and political ideas for the advancement of democracy in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

Over the years, the forum has deliberated on various topical issues, including political developments, economic renaissance in some parts of Africa, African unity, democratisation, creeping authoritarianism, crippling debt, inter-African issues, successful and failed regional groupings, unfinished liberation struggles, ongoing conflicts, xenophobia, secessionist pressures, youths fleeing to Europe, Africa’s relations with world powers, among others. 

Previous editions of the DAILY TRUST Dialogue featured eminent personalities in Nigeria including former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former military President, Ibrahim Babangida; former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar; former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; former Chief Justices of Nigeria (while in office); former Senate Presidents (while in office); former Speakers of the House of Representatives (while in office); state governors, senators and members of the House of Representatives, ministers, members of the diplomatic corps and captains of industry.

Guests from across Africa were former President of Botswana, His Excellency, Mr. Festus Mogae; former President of Ghana, late Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings; and Tanzania’s ex-Prime Minister, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim; late Mrs. Winnie Mandela of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle; Dr. Mo Ibrahim of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, and Mrs. Samia Nkrumah, daughter of the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s former President and reputable pan-African nationalist.