Presidential candidate of the New Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has raised concerns over Nigeria’s failure to turn its vast sporting talent into jobs, opportunities and a tool for youth development. Obi spoke after watching a Nigeria Premier Football League match between Enugu Rangers FC and Ikorodu City FC at the Onikan Stadium in Lagos. He attended the match alongside Ladipo Johnson, the NDC candidate for Lagos Central Senatorial District, and Aisha Jimoh, the party’s House of Representatives candidate for Lagos Island Constituency II. But beyond the football match, Obi said what struck him most was the sparse crowd at…
Author: National Update
The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, is taking its 2027 campaign preparations beyond Nigeria, with plans to formally launch its United Kingdom chapter in the presence of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and running mate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. The party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, disclosed this during a meeting with NDC members and Nigerian community representatives in London on Saturday. Dickson said he would return to the UK later in the year alongside Obi, Kwankwaso and other senior party leaders for the formal launch of the NDC-UK Chapter. The meeting, held at the London Park Lane Hilton Hotel, was…
Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s continued absence from Nigeria, asking why the country’s President was missing as world leaders gathered in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly. Obi raised the question on Sunday after watching an address by Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama at the global gathering. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, the former Anambra State governor contrasted Ghana’s presence at the UN with Nigeria’s absence at presidential level. “Where is the President of Africa’s most populous nation, a country of more…
The wife of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Asia Mohammad Ahmad, has dismissed speculation that the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, was the person her husband had in mind when he spoke about friends and associates who had remained silent during his current ordeal. Ahmad’s intervention came after a column by Professor Farooq Kperogi linked Sanusi to El-Rufai’s September 23 remarks, which sparked speculation over the identity of those the former governor said had failed to stand by him. In a post on her verified Facebook page on Saturday, Ahmad said Sanusi remained with the family and urged…
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has challenged the Federal Government to produce the payment records behind its claim that more than ₦600 billion was transferred to over 10 million vulnerable Nigerians under the conditional cash transfer programme. HURIWA said the explanation by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, that many beneficiaries do not own mobile phones, watch television or use social media failed to answer the central accountability question. The rights group said the issue was not whether beneficiaries were active on digital platforms, but whether the government could produce verifiable evidence…
An All Progressives Congress chieftain, Abayomi Nurain Mumuni, has questioned the need for the Federal Government to mobilise 4,000 social media influencers to promote President Bola Tinubu’s infrastructure projects ahead of the 2027 elections. Mumuni said the administration should not require paid voices to convince Nigerians of its achievements, arguing that its economic reforms, institutional changes and infrastructure projects should provide sufficient evidence of its performance. He was reacting to the plan announced by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to establish a network of 4,000 influencers to publicise federal infrastructure projects, particularly among young Nigerians. Umahi disclosed the plan…
The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council has demanded an immediate explanation from the Presidency over President Bola Tinubu’s continued absence from Nigeria, six days after the end of his originally announced three-week vacation. In a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the ADC PCC said Nigerians deserved to know the President’s whereabouts and the arrangements governing the exercise of presidential authority during his continued stay outside the country. The group said Tinubu’s vacation was originally expected to end on September 21, but alleged that the President had yet to return to Nigeria…
Christian leaders in Niger State have demanded equal representation in political appointments and other affairs of the state, claiming Christians constitute 45.7 per cent of the state’s estimated population. The demand was made in Minna on Sunday by the Chairman of the Nigerian Christian Youths in Politics, Niger State chapter, Evangelist Markus Salka, alongside the group’s Secretary, Barde Jesse. Salka said available demographic data put the state’s projected 2025 population at 7,478,417, with an estimated 3,417,636 Christians. He said the figures represented Christians at 45.7 per cent, Muslims at 46.1 per cent and adherents of other religions at 8.2 per…
The race for the Jigawa South-West Senatorial seat has begun to gather momentum as Accord Party candidate, Comrade Aminu Aminu, launched his 2027 campaign in his hometown of Sara, Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa State. Aminu’s campaign launch signals his entry into the contest for the National Assembly seat, with the former student leader seeking to convert years of grassroots activism, youth mobilisation and political organisation into electoral support across the senatorial district. Addressing supporters at Sara, Aminu placed youth empowerment, education, employment, community development and accountable representation at the centre of his campaign message. The candidate is presenting…
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief J.S. Okutepa, has questioned the decision of Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to withdraw from the trial of Ali Bello and Dauda Sulaiman, arguing that the timing of the recusal raises significant legal and procedural questions. Okutepa, in a legal opinion on the development, said the alleged interference with exhibits in the case did not, by itself, establish that Justice Omotosho was incapable of continuing with the trial impartially. The controversy followed allegations that some messages contained in mobile-phone evidence, particularly Exhibits N and O, had been deleted or tampered with.…