Category: Politics

APC Accuses Atiku And ADC Of Plot To Sabotage Kaduna Flag Off, ADC Demands Proof

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The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress of planning to discredit the party’s presidential campaign flag off in Kaduna on Saturday, October 24, 2026, through fake news, artificial intelligence generated content and counterfeit documents. In a statement by the Council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, the APC alleged a coordinated plot that began with a photograph of a security vehicle on routine patrol near a campaign billboard, which it said was twisted into a claim that security agents were protecting APC billboards, and then shared by Atiku on his official social media handles. The APC also pointed to a purported letter, allegedly written by Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani to the Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, claiming that the state government had released N2.3 trillion to host the rally, a claim the party described as senseless and baseless. To make its case, the party noted that Kaduna State’s combined budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026, put at N458.271 billion, N790.439 billion and N985.9 billion respectively, still fall short of N2.3 trillion. The Kaduna State Government separately disowned the letter, with Commissioner for Information and Culture, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki, saying that the Governor neither authored nor authorised the document, that no N2.3 trillion was budgeted, approved or released, and that the state was taking steps to trace the letter’s origin. The APC further alleged that old, doctored and deepfake videos would be circulated as the rally got underway to suggest public resentment, urging Nigerians to be vigilant and reject the alleged machinations. The ADC Presidential Campaign Council rejected the allegations, describing the APC statement as an attempt to divert attention from the Tinubu administration’s performance, with its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, challenging the APC to provide evidence linking Atiku or the party to the alleged fake letter and videos. The exchange offers an early preview of how combative the 2027 campaign season is likely to be, with both camps already trading accusations on the very day the ruling party opened its campaign. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

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High Chief Godfrey Ogbeide Appointed South-South Deputy Coordinator for Tinubu 2027 Campaign

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Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, High Chief Godfrey Omoarebu Ogbeide, MBA, MSBA, has been appointed Deputy Zonal Coordinator for Grassroots Engagement and Mobilisation, South-South I, in the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council. The strategic assignment expands Ogbeide’s leadership responsibilities across key regional political structures. Prior to this latest appointment, Ogbeide served as the Secretariat Director of Youth Structure 4 Asiwaju (YS4A) — Asiwaju Boys and Girls — while concurrently holding the position of Zonal Coordinator of Policy and Strategy for the South-South region within the City Boy Movement. His deployment reinforces the campaign council’s strategy to consolidate grassroots structures across the Niger Delta corridor. High Chief Ogbeide is the Founder and Chairman of The Omoarebu Ogbeide Foundation (TOOF®) and holds the traditional title of Aigbugbakheini I of Ozalla Kingdom in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State. His community development work through TOOF® has focused on improving living standards and supporting socio-economic advancement across grassroots communities. The core mandate of Ogbeide’s new role centers on driving grassroots engagement, facilitating stakeholder collaboration, and coordinating community-level participation. His office will lead local mobilization initiatives designed to align regional voters with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign objectives. In his operational capacity, Ogbeide is expected to work closely with national campaign officials, APC state leaderships, and local volunteer networks. The coordination framework aims to deliver cohesive engagement strategies across communities in the South-South geopolitical zone. The campaign council noted that Ogbeide’s appointment leverages his established track record in youth organization, policy planning, and regional strategic coordination. His combined roles within YS4A, the City Boy Movement, and the campaign council position him as a central figure in the party’s regional mobilization structure. Political analysts view the expansion of Ogbeide’s campaign responsibilities as a direct move to bridge top-tier campaign strategies with grassroots networks. By integrating policy coordination with direct voter outreach, the APC aims to fortify its operational presence ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle. By: Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

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City Boy Movement Appoints High Chief Godfrey Ogbeide as South-South Zonal Coordinator

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The City Boy Movement has appointed High Chief Godfrey Ogbeide, MBA, MSBA, as its Zonal Coordinator of Policy and Strategy for the South-South region. The strategic deployment places the prominent socio-economic strategist at the forefront of driving regional policy frameworks and grassroots coordination efforts. High Chief Ogbeide is the founder of The Omoarebu Ogbeide Foundation and holds the traditional title of Aigbugbakheini I of Ozalla Kingdom in Owan West Local Government Area, Edo State. His appointment is expected to significantly strengthen the movement’s policy direction, elevate strategic planning, and improve campaign initiatives across all six South-South states. Announcing the appointment through an official congratulatory statement, the leadership of the movement expressed immense confidence in Ogbeide’s administrative track record, public service commitment, and analytical insight. The organization highlighted his expertise as a vital asset for advancing its overarching socio-political objectives. In his new role, High Chief Ogbeide will formulate regional policy priorities, chart long-term strategic directions, and coordinate the execution of key movement programs. His office assumes a central role within the movement’s executive regional structure, bridging grassroots mobilization with overarching national objectives. The City Boy Movement expressed strong optimism that Ogbeide’s leadership will fortify its organizational framework and foster seamless synergy among state chapters throughout the geopolitical zone. The executive committee noted that his experience will prove pivotal in driving structured engagement and regional stability. Extending warm felicitations, the movement wished High Chief Ogbeide a successful tenure defined by purposeful leadership, operational excellence, and impactful outcomes across the South-South region. The deployment underscores the movement’s ongoing effort to recruit tested leaders capable of translating policy vision into actionable grassroots results. By: Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

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EDO 2027: APC CANDIDATE OSAMUEDE EDEBIRI PLEDGES YOUTH FOCUSED LEGISLATION AND INCLUSIVE GOVERNANCE IN OREDO EAST

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The All Progressives Congress candidate for the Edo State House of Assembly, Oredo East Constituency, Hon. Osamuede Edwin Edebiri, has pledged to champion youth focused legislation, inclusive governance, and people centered development if elected in the upcoming 2027 general elections. Speaking on his legislative ambition, Edebiri stated that the time has come for young people to transition from being celebrated during election campaigns to becoming active stakeholders in decision making processes. The assembly candidate argued that effective legislative representation requires lawmakers to deeply understand the everyday realities confronting their constituents. He emphasized that his candidacy for Oredo East is built on the firm conviction that youth experiences must directly influence policy decisions within the state legislative chamber. Criticizing what he described as tokenistic youth engagement, Edebiri condemned the practice of mobilizing young citizens as campaign tools only to exclude them after elections. He insisted that youth must be treated as strategic partners whose innovative ideas, energy, and lived experiences can drive meaningful development throughout Oredo East. Outlining his core campaign blueprint, Edebiri declared that his legislative agenda rests on four key pillars: good representation, quality legislation, sustainable development, and people centered service. He stated that these priorities will ensure the immediate welfare and needs of ordinary constituents remain at the heart of his legislative work. Edebiri stressed that behind every policy decision are real people whose lives are directly impacted, including young people seeking better economic opportunities, families demanding improved infrastructure, students requiring quality education, and young entrepreneurs seeking support to scale their businesses. He affirmed that these daily struggles will drive his commitment to public service. Addressing generational synergy, the APC candidate sought the blessing and guidance of traditional rulers, elders, and community leaders. He noted that active youth involvement in governance should complement rather than undermine the wisdom of older generations, adding that combining elder experience with youth energy creates an unstoppable foundation for constituency growth. Edebiri further urged political leaders across board to grant young people substantive leadership roles rather than symbolic appointments. Concurrently, he charged emerging young leaders to practice humility, integrity, and absolute accountability, reminding them that political representation is a public trust that carries broader implications for an entire generation. Concluding his declaration, Edebiri called on the residents of Oredo East to embrace a new standard of representation defined by accessibility, development, and effective legislative advocacy. He urged constituents to walk together toward a brighter future built on collective progress and genuine political inclusion. By: Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

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REGIONAL ALLIANCE: NORTH EAST GOVERNORS RECHARGE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR SECURITY, TRANSPORT AND ENERGY EXPANSION

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Governors under the banner of the North East Governors Forum have reaffirmed their collective commitment to regional development, socio economic integration, and enhanced security across all six subregional states. The communique, signed by Forum Chairman and Borno State Governor Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, highlighted significant milestones achieved since the coalition was founded in Gombe in March 2020. The high level meeting was attended by the leadership of Borno, Adamawa, and Gombe states, while Bauchi and Yobe states sent deputy governors to ensure full administrative representation. The strategic session focused on aligning security protocols, accelerating infrastructural master plans, and establishing self sustaining economic structures across state lines. Expressing gratitude to the federal government for prioritizing vital infrastructure, the forum praised ongoing efforts on the Port Harcourt Jos Bauchi Gombe Maiduguri rail corridor, the Kolmani frontier oil exploration, and key interstate highways. However, the leaders explicitly requested the prompt resumption of stalled oil exploration initiatives within Borno State, specifically calling for active work in Magumeri and Gubio local government areas. Addressing the subregion’s power deficits, the governors celebrated the integration of the Dadinkowa Hydropower Plant into the national grid while urging state administrations to leverage new national power legislations. The forum encouraged aggressive adoption of solar mini grid installations, citing the abundant sunshine across the region, while demanding accelerated federal movement on the Mambila Hydropower Project following recent legal resolutions. The forum commended ongoing humanitarian and infrastructural interventions by the North East Development Commission, while calling for expanded investments in education and the immediate release of outstanding scholarship awards. The leaders placed special priority on combating the out of school children challenge through targeted, modernized support for Tsangaya education centers across member states. To tackle rising logistical costs and transport tariffs, the regional body announced a partnership with Green Ville Energy to establish a comprehensive Compressed Natural Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas network. This operational shift will coincide with the launch of thousands of electric tricycles, taxis, and buses provided through federal support via the regional development commission. Further boosting connectivity, the governors finalized plans to establish a dedicated regional air shuttle designed to streamline movement for trade, development personnel, and emergency operations. Regional leaders noted that seamless intra regional mobility remains critical to building economic resilience against external economic shocks. On regional safety, the governors praised the operational successes achieved by security agencies and local vigilante groups while commending the populace for their unwavering resilience against extremist threats. The leadership pledged to expand youth empowerment programs across vocational, technical, and digital industries to prevent vulnerable populations from being exploited by criminal syndicates. The North East Governors Forum concluded its session by confirming that its next executive council meeting will convene in Gombe on December 18 and 19, 2026, to evaluate implementation progress. By: Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

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From Oredo East’s Streets To The Chamber, A Promise To Finally Listen

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Somewhere in Oredo East tonight, a young person is sitting in the dark because the light went out again, while others hold a certificate in one hand and a dream in their chest, with nobody calling them back, and some are counting the last naira in their pocket and still choosing to hope. I have seen that hope up close, and it is the most precious thing our community owns, which is why it deserves leaders who will protect it. I stand before you as the APC candidate for the Edo State House of Assembly, Oredo East Constituency, and I do not come with a speech about tomorrow but with a promise about today. I know what it feels like to stand outside a room where your future is being decided, to carry ideas and a heart for your people, and to be told to wait, and our young people have waited long enough. Youthful representation is not about age but about understanding, because the graduate who has walked from office to office with a folded CV knows what unemployment does to the spirit, and the young trader in Benin City who has watched a small business collapse under high costs and missing support knows what the economy feels like at street level. When people who have lived these struggles sit in the chamber, laws stop being paper and start becoming relief. For too long, our young people have been clapped for at rallies and forgotten after elections, and we have been called leaders of tomorrow so often that tomorrow has started to sound like a postponement. Every young person who has ever felt invisible deserves to hear this clearly, you are not a campaign decoration, you are the heartbeat of this constituency. I also want to say, with deep respect, that I am not asking anyone to step aside, for our fathers, mothers and elders carry the wisdom that built the ground we stand on, and I want their guidance beside me and not behind me. When the elder who has walked far and the young person who is ready to run sit at the same table, a community becomes unstoppable. My commitment to Oredo East rests on four promises, good representation, quality legislation, sustainable development and people centred service, and behind every one of them is a face, a mother who wants her son to find work, a father who wants a safe road for his daughter, a student who wants a school that believes in her, and a young creative who needs one chance to turn talent into a living. Our message is simple, people first, progress always. To my fellow young people, I speak as a brother, for a seat at the table is not a trophy but a trust, and trust is earned by character. We must be honest when no one is watching, humble when we are applauded, and faithful to the people who believed in us, because when one of us fails, doubt falls on all of us, and when one of us succeeds, a door opens for the next. To parents, community leaders, traditional institutions and political parties, I make a heartfelt appeal to make room, to give young people real roles and not decorative ones, to mentor us without controlling us, and to listen to us even when our questions are uncomfortable, because the young person who challenges you today is the one who will carry your legacy tomorrow. And to the young man selling recharge cards while studying for his next exam, the young woman organising her neighbours for a cleaner street, and the corps member teaching in a distant village, your quiet effort is already leadership, and your struggle is proof of strength, not weakness. I dream of an Oredo East where no talented child must leave home to be valued, where no capable voice is silenced for being young, and where every family can say that they were seen, they were heard and they were served. A stronger Oredo East and a brighter future begin when we choose to make space for those who have waited so long, because the leaders of today are here, and we will walk together. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

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Tinubu Rallies Africa To Stop Exporting Its Mineral Wealth And Start Owning It

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for a fresh continental push to end the historical exploitation of Africa’s critical mineral resources, urging African nations to unite and halt the export of raw materials without local processing. The Nigerian leader made the call in New York during the AMSG High Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, held on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly and chaired by Tinubu alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima and Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake. In his address, delivered by Shettima, the President told African leaders that the continent cannot claim to be wealthy while its children wallow in poverty amid mines that enrich the world, insisting that Africa’s duty is to ensure the future being fashioned from its minerals has room for African ambition. He regretted that mineral rich communities lack infrastructure and jobs at a time when global demand for clean energy and advanced manufacturing has made Africa’s cobalt, copper, lithium and rare earth elements indispensable to global supply chains. Tinubu warned that no African country can achieve transformation alone, insisting that fragmentation leaves the continent exporting raw materials and buying finished goods at a premium, while cooperation would give African markets scale and negotiating authority. Back home, the President said Nigeria must require local value addition for new mining licenses, disclosing that mining revenue rose from about N6 billion in 2023 to between N68.1 billion and N70 billion in 2025, alongside major foreign investment commitments in Nasarawa State. He called for reliable partnerships grounded in mutual benefit and sovereign equality, urging AMSG member countries to speak with one voice to promote Africa’s collective interest in mineral negotiations. On the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration adopted at the Roundtable, the President said its authority must survive the signing ceremony through a binding programme with timelines, financing and public accountability. AMSG Chairman, Dele Alake, described the Declaration as a landmark framework for Africa’s mineral value chains, urging countries yet to join the group to do so, while Kenya’s Minister of Blue Economy, Hassan Ali Joho, stressed the importance of domestic resource mobilisation for the continent’s mineral ambitions. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

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Shettima Briefed On Nigeria’s UNGA Priorities As Governors Pitch States For Investment

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Vice President Kashim Shettima has received a comprehensive brief on Nigeria’s participation in the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, delivered by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim. Speaking with journalists after the session, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, said Nigeria will build on its previous position at the global body, where it strongly canvassed for a holistic reform of the UN’s contributions to developing countries. He noted that when the session formally opens, the Vice President will present President Tinubu’s message across different sectors, including Nigeria’s push for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim said the country’s participation would be anchored on deepening reforms at the global body to ensure significant impact on member states, among other strategic objectives for the session. On their expectations from the gathering, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule and Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris said they were seeking opportunities to open their states to global investments, particularly in solid minerals. The governors said the abundant mineral resources in their states placed them in a strong position to attract international investors and promote economic development at home. Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara said he was attending the summit to explore global partnerships capable of attracting more investment to his state, expressing optimism that Rivers State’s oil and gas resources would draw meaningful engagement. The governors said their participation was aimed at leveraging the international platform to promote their states and create new economic opportunities for their people. Also present at the briefing were Governors AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman of Kwara and Babagana Zulum of Borno, alongside Ministers Dele Alake, Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim and Doris Uzoka Anite. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

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INEC Trains Officers On Archiving To Protect Institutional Memory Ahead Of 2027

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced a capacity building workshop for its Public Affairs Officers on archiving, cataloguing and documentation as part of efforts to strengthen institutional memory ahead of the 2027 General Election. The workshop, held in Abuja under the theme Preserving Institutional Memory Through Effective Archiving And Documentation, continues a capacity building programme for the officers that began earlier in the week with a focus on strategic communication. In her welcome remarks, Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Eta Messi, described archiving and documentation as critical components of the Commission’s work, noting that proper preservation of records would enable INEC to learn from previous electoral cycles. She said the Graphic, Library and Documentation Division, being the youngest division in the department, required strengthened capacity across the states to effectively perform its responsibilities, urging participants to take the training seriously. Eta Messi noted that records from previous electoral cycles were sometimes left in boxes or poorly organised, making it difficult for the Commission to conduct comparative analysis and learn from past experiences. The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Adedayo Oketola, also underscored the importance of the exercise, particularly as the Commission prepares for the 2027 General Election. Speaking on the workshop’s objectives, Deputy Director of the Graphic, Library and Documentation Division, Mrs Perpetua Obiageri Aligwara, identified the loss of procedural knowledge and inconsistent application of guidelines as key risks of poor records management. She stressed the need for a central and secure archive for election guidelines, results documentation, litigation records and post election reviews, saying effective documentation would help safeguard consistency and public confidence across election cycles. Resource persons Mr Osarome Ogbebor and Mr Elijah Olawale Azeez took participants through records creation, filing practices and the protection of institutional records, with the two day training expected to equip officers with practical archiving skills. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

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