A single rhetorical question asked to stakeholders in Kebbi State has grown into a campaign-season fight over who owns Nigeria’s security failures, and who must answer for them. Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari was addressing stakeholders on Monday when he put the question that set it off. “If Buhari, who is a retired military man, could not wipe out insecurity, what do people expect from Tinubu?” he asked. Supporters framed the remark as a defence of President Bola Tinubu: the problem is old, deep and stubborn, and no leader could be expected…
Author: National Update
The Nigerian Air Force says a single precision airstrike has cut into the security core and leadership of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Lake Chad region. NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame announced the strike on Tuesday, saying it hit an identified terrorist hideout on 19 October 2026. He called it a “significant operational success.” According to preliminary post-strike assessments, several prominent fighters were killed, including two figures the Air Force described as part of the group’s leadership structure. One is Jindullah, reportedly the chief security guard and confidant of Abu Saleem. The other is Abul…
***Warns FCT minister against political interference as Rainbow Coalition seeks foothold in state Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia has warned Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, against dragging the state into his political calculations, declaring that Benue is neither Rivers State nor available for political negotiations. Alia, in a pointed response to Wike’s recent comments and political activities in Benue, said the state’s future would be determined by its people, not by political arrangements brokered elsewhere. “Benue is not Rivers and I’m not Fubara,” the governor declared, drawing a distinction between his administration and the political crisis that…
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has challenged the Presidency to explain how Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) dividends paid into the Federation Account were distributed, insisting that a reconciliation exercise identified about ₦9 trillion due to states and local governments. The dispute follows the Presidency’s rejection of Makinde’s claim that the Federal Government was withholding ₦250 billion for each state, describing the allegation as false. Makinde raised the issue at the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement at the University of Ibadan, alleging that the funds would not be released until after the 2027 general elections. He said the money could have…
Former Delta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, who rose through the state’s public service to lead it for eight years, has died at the age of 70. Uduaghan reportedly died on Monday, October 19, 2026, according to a statement issued by his family and signed by Toju Anire Uduaghan. His political journey took him from the Ministry of Health to the Delta State Government House. He served as Commissioner for Health from 1999 to 2003 before becoming Secretary to the State Government, a position he held until 2007. That same year, he became governor, serving two consecutive terms until…
The APC campaign chief argues that insecurity cannot be blamed solely on Tinubu, citing Buhari’s inability to completely end the crisis despite being a retired general. Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari has defended President Bola Tinubu over Nigeria’s persistent security challenges, arguing that former President Muhammadu Buhari’s military background did not enable him to completely end insecurity. Yari made the argument on Monday during a visit to Kebbi State, where he met Governor Nasir Idris, traditional rulers and other APC leaders as the party intensifies preparations for the 2027 general elections. He maintained…
Operatives of the Kogi State Vigilante Service (KSVS) have rescued seven kidnapped victims from a forest in Overe, Okene Local Government Area, and foiled a separate abduction attempt in Zariagi, Kabba Junction. The two operations, carried out on October 18, followed intelligence gathering and a distress call, according to a statement by the service. The statement, signed by the KSVS Public Relations Officer, Idris S. Idris, on Monday, said operatives of the Okene Command, working with local hunters, launched a rescue operation in Overe Forest after receiving actionable intelligence. It said the kidnappers opened fire on sighting the security operatives,…
The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has renewed his call for a corruption-free Nigeria. He also advocated for Nigerian voters to elect leaders with the capacity and character to unite the country and drive economic transformation. Obi spoke during an impromptu engagement with Nigerians at their annual general meeting in Birmingham, United Kingdom, after concluding his engagements in Manchester. In a statement issued after the meeting, the former Anambra State governor said the discussions centred on the collective responsibility of building a Nigeria that works for all citizens. He said achieving that goal required…
March 16, 1947 – October 19, 1986 By Comrade Salihu Othman Isah Forty years ago today, at exactly noon, Nigeria heard a sound it had never heard before. It was not the sound of a gun or the rumble of a coup. It was the sound of a parcel exploding on a dining table at 25, Talabi Street, off Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos. When the smoke cleared, Sumonu Oladele Giwa lay bleeding, his body torn open. His colleague, Kayode Soyinka, lay deafened. His 19-year-old son, Billy, who had received the parcel minutes earlier from two men on a motorcycle,…
The defence team of former Minister of Power, Dr Olu Agunloye, has asked the Attorney-General of the Federation to consider discontinuing his trial over the Mambilla power project following a September ruling by an international arbitration tribunal in Paris. At the resumed hearing of the case at the FCT High Court on Monday, defence counsel Adeola Adedipe, SAN, told Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie that he had written to the Attorney-General, citing Paragraph 1107 of the tribunal’s 616-page ruling, which specifically addresses Agunloye. Adedipe urged the court to allow two weeks for the Attorney-General to respond to his request. However, the judge…