Political strategist and Convener of the League of Northern Democrats, Umar Ardo, has stated that the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, lacks the inclination to withdraw from the presidential race.

He, however, noted that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has the ability to step down, although doing so would alienate his support base.

He explained that if Atiku were to express a willingness to withdraw, the former vice president would likely retain his support base.

However, he emphasised that it is highly improbable for the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to take such a step.

Ardo said that while Peter Obi could easily step aside, his supporters might not react favourably to such a decision, highlighting these as the two significant challenges hindering a robust merger ahead of the presidential election.

Speaking on Arise News, Ardo said, “My view is that Atiku does not have the propensity by himself to say, ‘I will step down.’ If he says so, he will not have a problem with his support base. But the issue is that he is highly unlikely to say that.

“Then Peter Obi has the propensity to say, ‘I will step down.’ But if he says so, he will not have his support base. He will not be able to carry his support base. His support base will not go with him. So, now, these are the two problems.

“Unless we are able to resolve these two challenges, then I don’t see the fusing together being possible. However, even if they do not fuse together, individually, anyone of them has the capacity to upturn the order, depending on how he strategises himself.

“So, even if they don’t, they still have the capacity to win the election against the incumbent on an individual basis.”

Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke has urged political leaders across the state to work together to move the state forward.

The call came after the 2026 governorship election.

Governor Adeleke made the call while reacting to the peace appeal issued by the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, following his recent visit to President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.

The governor described Oyebamiji’s appeal as a welcome development after weeks of intense political activities and tension surrounding the election.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed on Friday, Adeleke said the people of Osun deserved peace and stability after the election season.

The governor also called on members and supporters of all political parties to exercise restraint and avoid actions capable of undermining peace across the state.

Adeleke said his administration had consistently opposed the use of violence for political purposes, despite the pressures experienced during the campaign and election period.

He said, “I am forever a man of peace. It is heartwarming that my brother, Oyebamiji, is also preaching peace. I assure him that my supporters have not and will not attack APC members.”

According to the governor, “the period of political competition has ended, making cooperation among leaders necessary to ensure effective governance and development across Osun.

“Elections have come and gone, and we are all winners. The common task for us all is to sustain the delivery of democratic dividends and good governance to the good people of Osun State.”

Adeleke invited former governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Oyebamiji and other opposition leaders to participate in efforts aimed at advancing the interests of the state.

He said, “We are all important stakeholders in this Osun project.”

He also reiterated his commitment to maintaining peace and encouraged political cooperation after the election.

The Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Osun State Command, has arrested 55 migrants from Cameroon and the Republic of Congo for allegedly entering the state through unauthorised routes and staying without valid travel documents.

The migrants were paraded in Osogbo on Friday following their arrest at different locations across the state.

Speaking to journalists after the exercise, the Osun State Comptroller of Immigration, Ibrahim Akinyemi, said the arrests were carried out based on intelligence received by the command.

Akinyemi described the suspects as irregular migrants and said the exercise was part of efforts to identify foreigners residing in and operating businesses in the state without the required immigration documentation.

“These people are about 55. They are irregular migrants. They were arrested and brought here for repatriation. They came in through an unauthorised route. So, their stay here has become a serious nuisance,” he said.

According to him, immigration officials traced the migrants to their various locations after gathering intelligence and subsequently brought them to the command headquarters on the directive of the NIS headquarters through the Comptroller-General.

He said the exercise was only the beginning, adding that the migrants would undergo profiling to determine their immigration status and whether any of them qualified for regularisation.

“They were apprehended through intelligence gathering. We had to go to their various locations to bring them here to the office. We have to profile and check their documents to know which ones are eligible, or which ones are legal and can be regularised,” Akinyemi stated.

The comptroller said preliminary checks showed that the migrants did not possess valid travel documents, including passports.

“They don’t even have ordinary passports, and they are here doing this illegal online business that is not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission,” he added.

Akinyemi disclosed that some of the migrants were found living in the Owode-Ede area of the state, while immigration officials were continuing efforts to identify and apprehend others who might be staying at undisclosed locations.

He said the migrants told investigators that they came to Osun to engage in an online business known as QNET, although they allegedly declined to provide further details about the operation.

The comptroller also said the command would investigate how the migrants entered the state and pursue those suspected of facilitating their movement into Osun.

“They also claimed to have come through Yola (Adamawa State). By the grace of God, we are taking them back to where they came from,” he said.

One of the migrants, Ismail Mohammed, a Cameroonian national, told journalists that he arrived in Osun in February 2026 after being invited by a woman living in Chad to engage in online business in the state.

The NIS said further profiling and investigation would determine the migrants’ individual circumstances and the appropriate administrative action to be taken.

Nigerians, especially residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, have expressed concerns over the upsurge in the activities of scavengers, who wander around neighbourhoods at odd hours, posing security risks.

The residents are pleading with the authorities to intensify enforcement, limit their activities, and provide alternative means of domestic waste disposal.

In the FCT, there is a damning image associated with the nomenclature of waste scavengers, popularly known as ‘Baban bola’.

Many of them have reportedly used the title as a cover for all sorts of criminal activities. They rob and pilfer residents’ properties, vandalise and steal government assets and, working in gangs, harass innocent citizens.

Some of them, according to reports, go about as scavengers by day and then operate as armed robbers and pickpockets by night.

Speaking to DAILY POST, some residents of the FCT and its outskirts said the rising cases of kidnapping and other related crimes could be linked to scavengers who move around unperturbed.

DAILY POST gathered that, in recent times, major locations such as Nyanya, Karu, Jikwoyi, Mararaba and Masaka, all suburbs of the FCT, have had their neighbourhoods crowded with scavengers.

A resident simply identified as Mama Amina told DAILY POST that Abuja is fast becoming a hotspot for kidnappers and other criminal elements due to its porous boundaries and security setup.

She said two major incidents of burglary were reportedly carried out by scavengers in Mararaba, and that nothing had been done to permanently end the menace.

“You see these Baban bola (scavengers); they are professional criminals. Forget about their pitiable look. At night, they broke into my neighbour’s house and went away with expensive valuables. We lodged a complaint, but till now, nothing has been done,” she said.

Another resident, Ifeanyi Ike, in Nyanya, regretted the absence of an organised system for collecting domestic waste, stating that the flawed system empowers criminals who disguise themselves as scavengers.

“Previously, the Abuja Environmental Board was more organised. As long as there is no means of disposing of domestic waste, the scavengers will keep increasing in number. The evil these scavengers are capable of is limitless,” he said.

On his part, Suleman Danladi blamed the rising insecurity in the North for the situation, noting that the young men who engage in scavenging used to be thriving farmers in their villages until the insurgency.

Also speaking to DAILY POST, some scavengers, who mostly spoke Hausa, said they ventured into the job to make ends meet, adding that they had to feed their families.

A scavenger, Ibrahim Dantata, said, “There is no job. I have no education and I have no skills. Not every scavenger is a thief. I know people are ruining our reputation, but we are not all bad. I am into this business because it helps me feed my four wives and nine children in Zamfara.”

Another scavenger, simply identified as Adamu, who carries out his activities around Nyanya and Karu, said they punish any scavenger caught stealing or engaging in any criminal activity.

“We don’t tolerate stealing among ourselves. Anybody who is caught stealing faces disciplinary action from us. We either collect their trucks or go physical on them,” he said.

But Mr Ndu Nwokolo, a security expert and Managing Partner at Nextier, said the menace of scavengers in Abuja has exposed residents to pilfering, burglary, illegal surveillance, knife attacks and hooliganism.

According to him, during odd hours, the scavengers inflict violence on innocent individuals and vandalise government property.

He advised the Federal Capital Territory Administration to enforce the ban on indiscriminate disposal of refuse and scavenging.

He said, “The authorities should implement the ban, which should include moving these young people to skills acquisition centres or other sources of livelihood, while the waste management system in the city needs to be effective, thereby making their (scavengers) access to bins difficult.”

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Taraba State chapter, has called for stronger collaboration among the church, government and traditional institutions to promote peace, unity, good governance and sustainable development in the state.

The call was contained in a 10-point communiqué issued at the end of a three-day Ministers of the Gospel Conference held at the CAN Secretariat along FGGC Road, Jalingo.

The conference, themed “The Roles of the Church and the State in Advancing God’s Purpose in a Changing World,” brought together bishops, pastors, church leaders, traditional rulers, politicians and CAN leaders from the 16 local government areas and two development areas of the state, as well as participants from across the country.

The communiqué, signed by the CAN Chairman in Taraba, Rev. Fr. Williams P. Awoshiri, and Chairman of the Conference Working Committee, Bishop (Dr.) Innocent R. Solomon, stated that the church and government had distinct but complementary roles in nation-building.

“The church has a spiritual and moral responsibility to preach the gospel, defend human dignity, promote peace and justice, care for vulnerable people and speak for the voiceless,” the association said.

It said government was responsible for providing security and justice, delivering essential services and creating an enabling environment for development.

CAN urged Christians holding political offices to regard their positions as opportunities for service rather than personal advancement, citing biblical figures such as Joseph, Daniel, Esther and Nehemiah as examples of integrity and effective leadership.

The association also called on the church to provide moral and ethical leadership without becoming an instrument of partisan politics.

It urged churches to prepare Christians not only for participation in elections but also for responsible service in governance, including in the areas of economics, security, law, agriculture, education and technology.

On church-state relations, CAN advocated constitutional independence, mutual respect and constructive cooperation.

It urged the church to complement government efforts in education, healthcare, poverty reduction and peacebuilding while retaining the courage to speak truth to power when necessary.

The association further called for greater consultation between government and traditional rulers, describing traditional institutions as important custodians of culture and grassroots values.

It urged authorities to involve traditional rulers in policies affecting their communities.

CAN expressed concern over divisions among Christians and called on church leaders to resolve differences within and across denominations, stressing that denominational differences should not undermine Christian unity or become sources of conflict.

The association also resolved to establish continuous channels of engagement among church leaders, traditional rulers and Christian politicians beyond election periods and times of crisis.

It said such engagement should focus on government policies and issues affecting citizens.

CAN called for greater involvement of church leaders in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, particularly in view of Taraba’s multi-ethnic composition and history of communal conflicts.

It urged leaders to adopt early intervention mechanisms and traditional methods of dispute resolution to prevent conflicts from escalating.