Vice presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said governors serving under President Bola Tinubu are not as powerful as governors were when Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999. Kwankwaso made the statement during an interview on Arise Television, where he also discussed governance, the conduct of state governors and the political situation ahead of the 2027 general elections. The former Kano State governor said he did not envy governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, under the Tinubu administration. According to him, governors in the current political dispensation have less…
Author: Ifeanyi Nwagboso
The Federal Government is working towards announcing a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers, according to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Communications, Sunday Shoretire. Shoretire disclosed this while speaking on the ongoing discussions around workers’ wages and the need to review the current minimum wage in line with prevailing economic realities. He said the government was committed to ensuring that Nigerian workers receive improved remuneration, adding that the process of arriving at a new wage structure was ongoing. According to him, relevant stakeholders were being engaged as the Federal Government considers the appropriate figure and framework…
The Ogun State Police Command has commenced the documentation and verification of personnel attached to the Special Protection Unit, SPY, in the state. The exercise is part of efforts by the command to strengthen accountability and improve the monitoring of private security personnel operating with firearms across the state. The command disclosed this in a statement, saying the documentation would cover all SPY personnel under its jurisdiction. According to the police, the exercise is intended to ensure that only properly authorised and verified personnel continue to perform security duties within the state. The command urged individuals and organisations employing SPY…
The vice presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has pledged that the party would reintroduce fuel subsidy in a different form if elected in the 2027 presidential election. Kwankwaso made the promise during an interview with Arise TV, where he criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy at the beginning of his administration. The former Kano State governor described the subsidy removal as a mistake, alleging that it had contributed to the economic difficulties facing Nigerians. He said the NDC would explore alternative ways of supporting consumers and reducing the cost of petrol without…
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said Senator Ireti Kingibe will not return to the Senate in 2027, while defending the FCT Administration’s borrowing for infrastructure projects. Wike made the statement on Tuesday while responding to journalists during an inspection of ongoing road projects in Abuja. His comments followed allegations by Kingibe, who represents the FCT in the Senate, that the FCT Administration had obtained loans without the required approval of the National Assembly. The minister dismissed the allegation, insisting that government borrowing must be captured in the budget and subjected to the required approval process. Wike…
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Abubakar Sokoto, has described the emerging Rainbow Coalition as another phase in Nigeria’s long history of political alliances and realignments. Sokoto, in a statement issued in Sokoto on Tuesday, said political coalitions had featured in different electoral cycles as parties and political groups joined forces to pursue common objectives while retaining their separate identities. He said the names, personalities, circumstances and objectives behind such alliances might change over time, but political realignment remained a recurring feature of Nigeria’s democratic process. The PDP candidate cited the 1999 joint presidential ticket of…
The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has warned Nigerians against individuals allegedly impersonating its officials and making unauthorised statements in the name of the party ahead of the 2027 general elections. The party said the warning became necessary following what it described as a growing number of unauthorised comments, statements and activities being attributed to its leadership. In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, the NNPP urged Nigerians, party members and the media to verify the identity and authority of individuals speaking on behalf of the party. Johnson said only properly designated officials were authorised to…
The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has announced plans to inaugurate its Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, ahead of the 2027 general elections. The party disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, following consultations among its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and the party leadership. According to the statement, Obi and Kwankwaso have been given the authority to nominate key officials of the campaign council in consultation with the party leadership. The positions include Director-General, Deputy Director-General for the North, Campaign Spokesman, Deputy Spokesperson, Head of New Media, Finance…
The Presidency has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to stay away from the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, saying he can effectively govern Nigeria from anywhere in the world. Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the statement while reacting to criticisms from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi. Atiku had questioned Tinubu’s absence from the UNGA for the third consecutive year, while Obi also expressed concern over the President’s decision not to personally attend the international gathering. Responding to the concerns, Onanuga said the…
Social commentator and businessman, Isaac Fayose, has disagreed with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the political strength of the opposition in Abuja ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Fayose, who spoke during an appearance on News Central TV on Tuesday, claimed that the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, would win the Federal Capital Territory in the 2027 election. His comment followed Wike’s recent assertion that the opposition lacks sufficient popularity in Abuja and that President Bola Tinubu would win the FCT and Rivers State in the next presidential election. Fayose…
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded an explanation from President Bola Tinubu over his decision not to attend the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, for the third consecutive year. Atiku made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, following the Presidency’s announcement that Vice President Kashim Shettima would lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st session of the UNGA in New York. Tinubu was absent from the 79th UNGA in 2024 and the 80th session in 2025, with Shettima representing him on both occasions. The Vice President is again…
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared Adamu Yakubu of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, winner of the Sakwa State Constituency bye-election in Zaki Local Government Area of Bauchi State. Yakubu emerged victorious after polling 8,515 votes in the election conducted on Saturday. The All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate came second with 3,771 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, secured 2,076 votes. The Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, polled 727 votes. The Returning Officer for the election, Professor Muhammad Sabo of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare, announced the result after the collation of votes from the constituency.…
More than 6,000 members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State ahead of the 2027 general elections. The defectors, led by Mr Godwin Obasi, were received by the leadership of the PDP in Enugu, the state capital, on Saturday. Obasi said the group decided to leave the NDC following what he described as the party’s choice of unpopular candidates for various elective positions. He said the defectors were drawn from all 260 wards and 17 local government areas of the state. “We decided that we were going to join the…
Concern is mounting ahead of the 2027 general election over a series of statements and actions by some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC, which opposition groups and civil society organisations have described as threats and intimidation. The concerns have emerged from incidents reported in Borno State, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Osun and Ebonyi, where some APC-linked public officials have made statements warning opponents or voters against supporting opposition parties. The presidential and National Assembly campaigns commenced on August 19, 2026, while the governorship and State Assembly campaigns began on September 9, according to the Independent National Electoral…
The Convener of the Igbo Union, Elias Odoemena, has accused governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, of opposing the Rainbow Coalition because they are afraid of the political influence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike. Odoemena made the claim while reacting to the ongoing disagreement between Wike and members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum over the political coalition ahead of the 2027 general election. The APC governors, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, had rejected the Rainbow Coalition, saying they would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening…
The Allied Peoples Movement, APM, has condemned the reported deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Niger State. The party also demanded an immediate, open and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths, as well as the reported use of ammunition and tear gas against protesters who took to the streets following the incident. In a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Abubakar, the APM described the deaths as avoidable and expressed concern over reports that 66 detainees were held in a…
A teenage gold miner in Niger State has alleged that personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, opened fire on miners at a gold mining site in the state. The teenager, who spoke to News Central Television in a video that has circulated online, made the allegation following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners while in NSCDC custody. He also disputed the initial explanation by the NSCDC that the deaths were linked to a disease outbreak. “We are under 18, and we are not allowed to be taken inside a cell. Heat cannot kill a gold…
The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has dissociated itself from a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, announced by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, ahead of the 2027 general election. NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, said the campaign council did not originate from the party and was not authorised by its leadership. In a statement issued on Saturday, Cleopas urged the public and media to disregard the announcement made by John Ughulu, Director-General of the OK Movement. He stressed that only the leadership of the NDC had the authority to constitute and announce a presidential campaign council…
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has described the bye-elections conducted in Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Delta States as important operational exercises that will provide lessons for the 2027 general election. INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, made this known on Saturday while monitoring the elections from the commission’s National Situation Room at its headquarters in Abuja. The commission conducted legislative bye-elections in the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency of Gombe State, Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano, Sakwa and Disina State Constituencies in Bauchi, and Udu State Constituency in Delta. Amupitan said the elections should not be regarded as routine exercises, stressing…
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, deputy governorship candidate in Ogun State, Lateefat Sowunmi-Kolapo, has urged residents to collect any money offered to them by members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, but vote for the PDP in the 2027 general election. Sowunmi-Kolapo made the call on Friday at a community stakeholders’ meeting in Obantoko, Odeda Local Government Area of the state, where she criticised what she described as economic hardship affecting residents. She said residents should protect their votes and reject any attempt to influence their choices through financial inducements. “Let your votes be massive and protect your votes. Stand…