Former Senate President and two-term Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has been named the chairman of the 23rd edition of the Daily Trust Dialogue. The event is scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at the NAF Conference Centre and Suites in Abuja.

The Chief Executive Officer of Media Trust Group, Ahmed Shekarau, confirmed Saraki's acceptance in a statement released yesterday. The dialogue is themed, "Nigeria's Fourth Republic: What Is Working and What Is Not."

Shekarau noted that Saraki, who represented Kwara Central Senatorial District from 2011 to 2019, will bring nearly three decades of experience as a key political actor and observer to the event. His leadership of the dialogue is expected to provide deep insights into the nation's political journey at both national and sub-national levels.

Before his political career, the Waziri Ngeri of Ilorin had a background in medicine and banking. After obtaining his MBBS from the London Hospital Medical College in 1987, he worked as a medical officer in the United Kingdom. He later served as a director at the defunct Societe Generale Bank Ltd before entering public service as a Special Assistant on Budget to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000.

The upcoming dialogue serves as a prominent platform for stakeholders to review the progress and challenges of Nigeria's current democratic era.

According to the statement, His Imperial Majesty, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, will serve as the Special Guest of Honour at the dialogue, where eminent public figures from within and outside government are expected to speak extensively on the event's theme.

Ladoja, who was crowned the 44th Olubadan of Ibadan in September 2025, served as governor of Oyo State from 2003 to 2007 and represented Oyo South Senatorial District in the Senate during the Third Republic between 1992 and 1993.

The monarch, a graduate in chemical engineering from the University of Liege, Belgium, where he studied from 1966 to 1972, has extensive experience in the private sector, having worked for 13 years at Total Nigeria in various capacities.

He began private investments in 1985, with interests spanning shipping, manufacturing, banking, agriculture and transportation.

He was installed as Jagun Balogun of Ibadan in 1993 and later became a director of Standard Trust Bank Limited in 2000.

Media Trust Group, owners of Daily Trust, Aminiya, Trust TV, Trust Radio and Digital Trust, disclosed that the 23rd Daily Trust Dialogue would be a multi-layered event, featuring a pre-event countdown involving the production, publication and broadcast of curated content highlighting some of the most defining moments of Nigeria's Fourth Republic since 1999.

The high-level dialogue forum traditionally brings together political leaders, policymakers, industry players, academics, professionals and other critical stakeholders from across Nigeria and Africa to examine and offer insights into pressing socio-political and economic issues.

According to the statement, this year's edition of the Daily Trust Dialogue will be open to members of the public.