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  • By-election: Five parties struggle for 217, 980 votes in Ibadan North

    By-election: Five parties struggle for 217, 980 votes in Ibadan North

    The by-election to occupy the vacant House of Representatives seat in Ibadan North Federal Constituency holds today, Saturday.

    The by-election became necessary as a result of the death of the former occupant of the seat, Hon Musliudeen Olaide Akinremi.

    Akinremi, who died July last year, was a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The election is billed to take place in twelve electoral wards that make up the federal constituency.

    Recall 217, 980 prospective voters who have collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards will determine the fate of the candidates contesting the election.

    Five political parties and their candidates have been moving from one ward to the other to seek votes.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), disclosed that only five political parties will participate in the election.

    The commission made this declaration on Wednesday.

    Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr Adeniran Rahmon Tella made this declaration during a media briefing in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    He said that the commission monitored the primary election of seven political parties but only five political parties made the final list.

    Tella said, “The commission has met with various key Stakeholders ahead of the upcoming Bye-Election. We have met with all the registered Political Parties in the State. In line with the timetable, Party Primaries have been conducted and Seven (7) Political Parties were monitored by the Commission. Five (5) Political Parties made the final list published by the Commission.

    “The parties and candidates that scaled through and that will be contesting in this upcoming Bye-Election on Saturday are as follows: Hon. Akin Alamu Dexter Femi of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Hon. Olatunji Haastrup Adewale of All Progressive Congress (APC), Hon. Odususi Olajumoke Olabisi of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Hon. Oyekunle Fola Sunday of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Hon. Hammed Badmus of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) respectively”.

    Five candidates sign peace agreement

    Before today, all the five candidates signed a peace accord.

    The peace accord was signed by the candidates at the INEC office on Wednesday.

    The event was attended by representatives of the political parties, security chiefs and other stakeholders.

    The five candidates who signed the peace agreement are: Dexter Femi Akin-Alamu from African Democratic Congress (ADC), Adewale Haastrup Olatunji from All Progressives Congress (APC), Olabisi Olajumoke Odususi from All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Fola Sunday Oyekunle from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Hammed Badmus from Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

    The REC, Mr Tella, while addressing the gathering, noted that the essence of the peace accord is to foster unity.

    He added that the commission was committed to conducting a credible election.

    He said, “On behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to this significant event -the official signing of the Peace Accord for Ibadan North Federal Constituency Bye-Election.

    “This gathering demonstrates your commitment to promoting peace, stability and credibility in the electoral process. The signing of this Peace Accord is a crucial step towards ensuring a free, fair and transparent election.

    “As we embark on this critical process. I urge all stakeholders to adhere to the principles outlined in the Peace Accord. Let us work together to create an environment that allows voters to exercise their rights without fear or intimidation.

    “You all witnessed the official signing of the “Peace Accord” by these Political Party Flagbearers and their Parties participating in the upcoming Bye-election on Saturday. The essence of which is to foster a conductive environment for voters to exercise their rights, ultimately contributing to the legitimacy and credibility of the electoral process.

    “The Commission had constant engagements with the members of Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) with the Commissioner of Police as the lead Security Agency in this regard. Assurances have been made to ensure safety, protection of lives and property of the electorate before, during and after the conduct of the coming election.

    “However, there will also be restriction on movement (except for Voters, Poll Officials) in the affected places within Ibadan North Federal Constituency beginning from 12:00 midnight prior to this coming Saturday’s election.

    “There will also be restriction on movement in Twelve (12) Registration Areas/ Wards in Ibadan North Federal Constituency which are: Ward I (Islamic Mission Primary School, Odoye) Ward II (St Stephen Primary School, Inalende), Ward III (Salvation Army Primary School Yemetu), Ward IV (Methodist Primary School, NTA), Ward V (Ikolaba High School, Ikolaba), Ward VI (St Gabriel Grammar School, Mokola), Ward VII(St Louis Grammar School, Mokola), Ward VIII (Chesire High School, Ijokodo), Ward IX C&S New Eden Primary School, Mokola), Ward X (Immanuel College Primary School, Samonda) and Ward XII which is (Methodist Primary School, Bodija) respectively.”

  • The North should allow Tinubu finish what he started – Gbajabiamila

    The North should allow Tinubu finish what he started – Gbajabiamila

    The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has urged northern political leaders to support his principal re-election bid.

    Gbajabiamila made the appeal at the 2025 Dialogue Session of the Northern Caucus of the National Forum of Former Legislators in Abuja.

    Speaking at the event, the former lawmaker insisted that the North is benefitting from the current administration in various ways.

    He added, “President Tinubu is not just a Southern leader; he is a national leader. ; he is a national leader who has carried every region along.

    “From critical infrastructure to policy reforms, the North is benefitting from a government that believes in equity and shared prosperity.

    “We are laying solid foundations today, and it is only right that the President is allowed to finish what he started.”

  • Eyin ko lokan” wait for your turn in 2031-SGF tells north

    Eyin ko lokan” wait for your turn in 2031-SGF tells north

    “Eyin ko lokan” literally meaning it’s notbyet your turn in Yoruba language was the message the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume passed to his northern brothers to wait till it’s their turn in 2031.

    Akume made the statement on Tuesday at an interactive forum in Kaduna, organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation. The session brought together a cross-section of political leaders, traditional rulers, civil society representatives and technocrats from the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory to evaluate the state of governance under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

    Speaking against the backdrop of growing political agitation and speculations ahead of the 2027 general election, the SGF appealed to the northern elite to honour the existing power-sharing understanding, which supports alternating the presidency between the North and South.

    “By the design of rotational presidency, the North—my region—will be eligible to seek the presidency in 2031, not in 2027,” Akume declared. “Nigeria will not cease to exist if the South retains power. We need patience to arrive at our turn.”

    He recalled the foundation laid by key political figures at the inception of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic in 1999, citing the late Chief Solomon Lar, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Abubakar Rimi, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and others as champions of power rotation to foster unity and equity.

    “Their vision was clear: to ensure national cohesion and stability, power must rotate. That wisdom paid off. It brought balance, reduced tension, and ensured our country remained united,” Akume said.

    He urged the northern political class to remain calm and throw its weight behind President Tinubu’s administration, noting that leadership must be built on trust, equity and continuity, not desperation.

    Akume’s remarks come amid speculation that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Kano Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso—both northern contenders in the 2023 presidential race—may run again in 2027.

    The SGF insisted that national interest must take precedence over personal ambition.

    “We must walk this path with faith and renewed hope in our shared future. Let us deepen our democracy through understanding, not rivalry,” he added.

    The forum, themed “Assessing Electoral Promises: Fostering Government-Citizen Engagement for National Unity,” served as a mid-term review platform for Tinubu’s presidency, which began on May 29, 2023.

  • Tinubu needs little from North in 2027 – Fayose

    Tinubu needs little from North in 2027 – Fayose

    Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu needs little votes from the North to win the 2027 election.

    Fayose disclosed this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, on Friday.

    Fayose said, “Tinubu outside the government consummated the APC, took that APC up and defeated the PDP in 2015. Without the opposition in 2023, the same Tinubu defeated everybody. So you think the man does not have a brain even if he does not talk? It’s only if I don’t have what it takes like him, I would have been a strategist.

    “The man has taken all over the south; he only needs little to turn it in the the north. Peter Obi will still have a good show. You can’t deny that. I always tell the truth. Obi will have a better show than the PDP. The PDP will come fourth and the ADC will come third. The APC will come first. Obi will come second. Write it down. You don’t have to be fooling people.

    “On whether I’m trusted or not, I don’t have to be trusted. That’s their problem. You know the situation of our party today. And it’s in my prayer that the PDP does not come fourth in the coming election.

    “You know, when I came here, I said the party was already going into a carcass. And if you recall very well, the majority of people that have defected after my coming here are huge enough and have left the PDP in a carcass. The situation in PDP, pretenders can pretend but you know that the PDP had messed up. Managing the party has become an issue.”

  • Kwankwaso slams Tinubu days after meeting with him in Aso Rock, says “he’s marginalizing North

    Kwankwaso slams Tinubu days after meeting with him in Aso Rock, says “he’s marginalizing North

    Barely four days after visiting President Bola Tinubu, the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has accused his administration of marginalising northern Nigeria by concentrating the country’s resources in the South.

    Speaking during the Kano State Stakeholders’ Dialogue on the 2025 Constitutional Amendment on Thursday, Kwankwaso alleged that the federal government was unfairly directing national funds to one section of the country, while leaving the North under-resourced and neglected.

    “A situation where the government is taking our resources and dumping it in one part of the country and other parts of the country are left just like that — I don’t believe that is the right thing to do by the government,” Kwankwaso said.

    “This is the time for the government to convince our people that the government is not just on one side of the country.”

    The former Kano State governor said information available to him suggests that “most of the national budget is now tilting in one direction in this country,” warning that the imbalance could worsen the challenges already facing the region.

    He further cautioned that the North is already grappling with insecurity and poverty largely because of a lack of sufficient resources and poor management of what little it receives.

    “Let me advise those who are struggling by all means to take everything to remember that some of the issues that we have in this part of the country today have to do with the lack of enough resources and mismanagement of the little that comes in,” he said.

    “That is why we have insecurity, we have poverty, and so on. It is happening here mainly, but like a desert, it would go everywhere.”

    Kwankwaso’s comments come amid ongoing concerns in northern Nigeria over perceived lopsidedness in appointments, project siting, and allocation of federal funds under the current administration.

  • Tinubu suddenly appoints people from North due to coalition – ADC

    Tinubu suddenly appoints people from North due to coalition – ADC

    The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said that the sudden apointments by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is nothing more than a “political panic management” due to the coalition force.

    In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC dismissed the appointments as “too little, too late,” adding that “you cannot marginalise a region for over twenty-five months and expect applause because you suddenly remembered on the twenty-sixth month that Nigeria is bigger than Lagos State.”

    According to the ADC, these appointments are nothing more than “political panic management,” a frantic attempt to bandage the gaping wounds inflicted on Northern Nigeria by over a year of calculated neglect, presidential arrogance and unprecedented nepotism.

    “For over a year, this government turned a blind eye as bandits terrorised villages in the north, as our farmers abandoned their land, and as rural economies crumbled under the weight of poorly thought-out fuel subsidy removal,” Abdullahi said.

    “Now, under the rising heat of public discontent, and with the emergence of a formidable opposition coalition gaining traction in the North and across the country, President Tinubu suddenly remembers that there are Nigerians to appoint into positions outside his Lagos.

    “Every major decision of this administration, from subsidy removal to a majority of the political appointments, have been taken without the North at the table. Now that the consequences of those decisions have become glaring, the President is doling out appointments as consolation prizes.

    “But Northerners as co-owners of our great federal republic know better than to be deceived by these token appointments. They see through President Tinubu’s actions — and can sense that this is not genuine. Tokenism is not inclusion, and symbolism is not governance,” the ADC spokesperson said.

    The ADC urged the Tinubu administration to abandon what it described as “Bourdillon-style appeasement politics,” and embrace real national inclusion through consultation, policy equity, and sincere federal character.

    “You cannot patch a broken roof with press releases and photo-ops. And you certainly cannot restore the trust that you have lost with the public by pretending that titles are a substitute for genuine commitment to nation-building.”

  • TCN restores power supply in some Northern states

    TCN restores power supply in some Northern states

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it has successfully restored bulk power supply through its 330kV Ugwuaji-Apir transmission line 1 as of 4:56 pm on Wednesday, following the completion of repairs on the vandalized section of the line.

    This was disclosed in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the TCN, Ndidi Mbah.

    “With the restoration of this line, the Apir-Lafia 330kV transmission line 2 is now operational, also, bulk power transmission has been restored to Lafia, Makurdi, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, and Gombe States.

    “As restoration efforts continue, with the TCN engineering team preparing to commence work on the second 330kV transmission line. All necessary materials for the repairs are on hand, and work will begin as soon as the site is secured for the safety of our personnel to the affected sections of the vandalized 330kV transmission line two,” the statement read in part.

    It noted that in the meantime, teams of linesmen will re-patrol the 330kV line 2 to ensure that no other sections are impacted as the repair works progress.

    “We appreciate your patience and understanding as our engineers work diligently to restore the 330kV transmission line 2. TCN recognizes the importance of electricity in our daily lives and is committed to ensuring that this line is repaired swiftly, thereby increasing the bulk power to the affected area by the incident,” it added.

    The northern region has been without electricity for over a week. The outage was said to have been triggered after the tripping off of the 330kV circuit transmission line between Benue and Enugu.

     

  • FG will restore electricity to north within 5 days – Adelabu

    FG will restore electricity to north within 5 days – Adelabu

    Mr Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, on Monday, said electricity would be restored to the 17 northern states that had suffered blackout due vandalisation of the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line.

    Adelabu said this while briefing State House correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.

    He said the disruption of electricity supply to the northern part of the country was due to vandalisation of Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, the major line that supplied electricity to the north.

    He, however, said the transmission line would be repaired within three to five days.

    “Mr President has instructed the National Security Adviser (NSA), the chief of defense staff, the chief of Army staff, Chief of Air Staff, to provide the required security for the people that will fix the demolished line.

    “With the provision of full security, the TCN staff will have the confidence, together with the contractors, to go to the field and fix it.

    “So, I’m just appealing to our northern brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, to bear with us that very soon, light will be restored, and we must all collectively protect our national grid to avoid further vandalisation,” said the minister.

    He added that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had earlier given approval for the ministry of power to upgrade the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, one of the oldest transmission lines in Nigeria.

    He said once the upgrade was done, the north would enjoy more stable electricity than what was being experienced now.

    He promised to convene a meeting with the chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and all the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to ensure that customers in the north were not billed during the period they suffered blackout.

    Adelabu explained that the national grid collapsed twice in recent times due to explosion of the transformer at Jeba plant.

    He said before the explosion, the last disturbance on the grid was about four months ago.

    “Let me tell you the truth of the matter is we have old infrastructure. We have a national grid that is more than 50 years old.

    “We have national grid whose transmission lines are weak, the towers are falling, and the substations, the transformers are old.

    “In fact, the transformer that actually exploded in Jeba was 47 years old. We’ve been trying to revamp this, to change them, but they cannot all be changed overnight,” he said.

    He said the ministry would continue to manage the grid to prevent frequent disturbances, until it was completely overhauled.

  • Tinubu not discriminating against North – Shettima

    Tinubu not discriminating against North – Shettima

    Vice-President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu is not working against the interests of Northern Nigeria.

    Shettima spoke on Wednesday in Kano while receiving a Federal Government’s delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Bajabiamila, on a condolence visit over the death of his mother-in-law. Hajiya Maryam Abubakar.

    A Correspondent in Kano quoted Shettima as praising Tinubu’s goodwill toward the region.

    The vice-president cited the appointment of the two Ministers of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, and the Chairman of Police Service Commission, among others, all from the North, as evidence of the president’s commitment to the region’s growth.

    He, therefore,urged Nigerians to support  Tinubu’s efforts to make Nigeria great, emphasizing that governance transcends political party affiliations.

    Shettima stressed that the country’s unity and progress were more important than party differences.

    He cited the support he received from the Kano State Government, led by Gov. Abba  Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), during his time of bereavement.

    Shettima said that the country has moved beyond politics and was now in the act of governance, emphasizing the need for collective efforts to achieve greatness.

    He reminded that Nigeria’s greatness was a collective responsibility, and that political party affiliations should not be a yardstick for division and destruction.

    The vice-president called for unity and cooperation among all the political parties, saying that ensuring Nigeria’s greatness was a collective responsibility.

    NAN

  • Just in: Senate approves establishment of North West Development Commission

    Just in: Senate approves establishment of North West Development Commission

    The Senate, on Thursday, passed the North West Development Commission (NWDC) bill to address the challenges facing the seven states in the geopolitical zone.

    This followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the Committee on Special Duties on the NWDC (Establishment).

    The bill to establish the commission was sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I Jibrin and 20 other senators from the seven states in the North West geopolitical zone.

    Chairman of the committee, Sen. Shehu Lawan Kaka (APC, Borno Central) moved the motion for the presentation and consideration of the report, while Sen. Ireti Kingibe (LP, FCT) seconded it.

    Presenting the committee’s report, Senator Kaka said the intent and purpose of the bill are well structured and strategically streamlined for the socio-economic development of the North West geopolitical zone of the country.

    He added that the commission’s establishment would bring the federal government closer to the North Western states and meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people.

    He, therefore, urged the Senate to pass the bill.

    When the bill was put to vote by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I Jibrin, who presided over the plenary, the senators unanimously supported it.

    In his remarks, Senator Barau commended his colleagues for supporting the bill’s passage.

    When established, he said the commission would address the challenges facing the geopolitical zone and, by extension, the country.

    Describing the North West as the food basket of the country, he said the commission, when established, will work towards the restoration of infrastructure destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents and bandits in the region.

    ” So if we are serious about ensuring we have food and for food security to be attained in this country, we must provide the necessary infrastructure for all our key sectors to thrive well.

    ” This commission is needed. I commend you all for supporting this; no one said no. Everybody supported this idea. So, now we are pushing the Bill to the House of Representatives for their approval and then to Mr President for assent,” he said.