Author: Anule Emmanuel

By Solomon Iorpev In the space of a single week, the government of Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia did something few Benue administrations have attempted with such scale and openness: it took itself, project list in hand, to the people. Across all three senatorial districts and all eleven federal constituencies of the state, a coordinated town hall tour set out to test the administration’s record against the judgement of the very communities it claims to have served. The verdict, delivered independently by traditional rulers, clergy, elders, women’s groups, youth leaders and party stalwarts in every zone, was strikingly consistent…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has unveiled a $10 billion financing plan for young entrepreneurs, saying Nigeria must create jobs rather than “teach people how to survive” as it grapples with a deepening cost‑of‑living crisis. Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), announced the programme after meeting a nationwide delegation of beneficiaries of the federal N‑Power youth scheme who traveled to Abuja to pledge support for his campaign. The plan, he said, would target startups and small enterprises as part of a broader effort to restore purchasing power and curb rising prices that have squeezed households and…

President Bola Tinubu will on Sunday depart Abuja for Europe to begin a three-week period of annual leave, the presidency said. Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President Bayo Onanuga in a statement said Tinubu’s first stop will be London, the United Kingdom. Onanuga described the trip as a “working vacation,” and said President Tinubu is expected to return in time to resume an intensified schedule of election campaigning ahead of the January 2027 vote.

By Tunde Rahman Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s new policy shift toward bringing back the fuel subsidy is a welcome return to proper political debate and the path of rectitude. It contrasts sharply with his futile search for forged certificates and drug indictments in the run-up to the 2023 election and his latest goof about President Tinubu’s age. Alhaji Atiku stated last week that if elected in 2027, he would “bring back fuel subsidy” by subsidising fuel production. He even repudiated his media aide who tried to embellish the proposal, not meaning to call it what it truly is – reinstating the…

Leaders of Afenifere and prominent Yoruba figures used a centenary lecture to press for greater unity among South‑West states and renewed momentum for restructuring Nigeria under “true federalism”. The leaders described the appeals around the life and ideals of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, who turned 100 in May. The Pa Reuben Fasoranti Centenary Lecture at Onikan drew traditional rulers, politicians, academics, religious figures and Afenifere representatives from across the country. The programme, organised by the Yoruba socio‑political organization, featured lectures by Arch Ayo Ladigbolu and Professor Ropo Sekoni and was chaired by former Ogun State governor Olusegun Osoba. Oba Olu Falae,…

By Anule Emmanuel They met in the cool, security‑ringed rooms of the Presidential Villa with the guarded courtesy of men who know power’s rituals and the urgent business of keeping it. On a Thursday that might have been an unremarkable day in the nation’s capital, critical stakeholders and Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) filed into the Presidential Villa and emerged with a simple, emphatic message: they are united behind Bola Tinubu and confident of delivering him a second term. The gathering – part governance update, part campaign strategy meeting, was emblematic of a campaign that is being staged,…

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Saturday left Abuja for Luanda to represent President Bola Tinubu at an African Union (AU) summit convened to address the continent’s security crises. The 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government “will focus on strategies for conflict prevention and resolution, as well as efforts to promote lasting peace and stability,” according to a statement by Shettima’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication Stanley Nkwocha. The statement said Shettima is scheduled to deliver President Tinubu’s address and join other African leaders in talks on strengthening continental mechanisms for preventing and…

The Presidency on Friday criticized the campaign pledge by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to “open the borders,” calling the slogan misleading because Nigeria’s land frontiers are already operational. Special Adviser on Media and Public. Communication Sunday Dare in a statement said “Most land borders were reopened on March 14, 2024,” noting that the government “has not reversed that position.” The presidential spokesman said that President Bola Tinubu formally reopened the Kamba border in Kebbi State on February 14, 2026, a move the administration says brought economic and diplomatic benefits. The statement described the dispute as one of terminology and…

President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of federal government systems, with an initial focus on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and other payroll, personnel and financial-management platforms. Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President Bayo Onanuga in a statement said Tinubu also directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele to lead the exercise, which he described as an independent, professional review intended to establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in government controls and how those weaknesses were exploited. The review follows a Federal Executive Council…

The Federal Government has called on the United Nations to update rules governing investor‑state arbitration to better protect national sovereignty and reinforce domestic courts, saying current practices risk skewing outcomes against states. Media aide to the Minister Kamarudeen Ogundel said the  Attorney General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi stated this at a heads‑of‑delegations roundtable during the Chief Legal Advisors Forum 2026, hosted by Singapore’s ministry of law. He said reforms should increase transparency, improve consistency in awards and clarify how damages are calculated—changes he said are essential to safeguard both investments and taxpayers. “States consistently express concern about the opacity…