The national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Seriake Dickson, has attributed his refusal to join the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to his unwillingness to support a political arrangement that could turn Nigeria into a one-party state.

Speaking when the management of Leadership Newspaper paid him a visit on Thursday, Dickson said the crisis and decline within his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, made him decide to establish a new political platform.

Reflecting on the political developments that led to the formation of the NDC, the former Bayelsa State governor stated that the decision was taken at a difficult period when the possibility of building a strong opposition party appeared uncertain.

According to him, the situation within the PDP influenced his decision to seek another political direction rather than move to the APC.

“I did not believe Nigeria should become a one-party state,” he said.

The lawmaker further attributed his decision to the need to preserve political competition and provide Nigerians with another platform through which they could participate in the democratic process.

He said that instead of joining an existing party, he and his political associates chose to build a new organisation that could compete with the ruling party, adding that the NDC had made considerable progress since its emergence.

“Months down the line, we have built a formidable party and a major opposition platform in Nigeria,” he added.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) will not participate in Saturday’s bye-election for the Kano State House of Assembly seat for Dawakin Kudu.

‎The election, scheduled for September 19, 2026, will be contested by six candidates from six political parties, according to the final list released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

‎The parties are ADP, APP, APC, LP, PDP and PRP.

‎The absence of the two opposition parties comes amid internal disputes in many parties in Kano as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.

‎Speaking on why the ADC did not field a candidate in the bye-election, the party’s Kano State chairman, Musa Shu’aibu Ungogo, said the leadership crisis currently before the courts prevented the party from participating.

‎He said the party had candidates ready to contest the election but was unable to proceed because of the ongoing dispute over control of the party.

‎“INEC called me on the issue of the candidate, and I told them to leave it. We are watching to see how they will manage it, since they have not been able to run the party,” Ungogo told DAILY POST.

‎“We have our candidates who have been there since when we were the only ones in the party, before these people came in, and by God’s grace, we will reclaim our party,” he added.

‎The ADC has been divided over its leadership and its choice of candidate for the 2027 Kano governorship election, with different factions backing Ibrahim Khalil and Ibrahim Ali-Amin, popularly known as Ibrahim Little.

‎NDC focusing on 2027

In the case of the NDC, the party’s Kano State chairman, Hussain Isa Mairiga, said its decision not to participate was deliberate and was based on the approaching 2027 general elections.

‎Mairiga told DAILY POST that the party had decided to concentrate its resources and political structure on the 2027 election rather than contesting the Dawakin Kudu seat, which he said came too late for the party to meaningfully prepare for.

‎He said the decision was reached after consultations with the party’s leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

‎“We discussed with the leader of the NDC, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and we decided that we would not participate in the election. We are only waiting for the general election, when we will take the Kano government from the APC. That is what is before us,” Mairiga said.

‎The decision by the ADC and NDC to stay out of the Dawakin Kudu bye-election leaves six parties in the contest, while both opposition parties focus on resolving their internal issues and preparing for the 2027 elections.

‎INEC said it has completed preparations for the bye-election and urged voters, candidates and political parties to comply with electoral laws and maintain peace before, during and after the poll.

The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command has commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding a deadly clash between personnel of the Vehicle Inspection Office, VIO, and commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, in the Life Camp area of Abuja.

The incident, which occurred on Thursday night, reportedly triggered tension in the area, with video clips circulating online alleging that a motorcyclist was fatally shot.

DAILY POST gathered that the incident began when VIO personnel attached to a task force constituted by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, were enforcing the ban on motorcycles plying major roads within the city.

The personnel were said to have engaged in a heated argument with a commercial motorcyclist before the situation escalated into a confrontation.

However, in a statement issued by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Josephine Adeh, the Command said normalcy had been restored to the area following the directive of the Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi.

Adeh said the CP had also ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident to determine the circumstances surrounding the clash.

“The Command assures members of the public that further information will be made available as the investigation progresses.

“Normalcy has since been restored in the area, and members of the public are enjoined to remain calm and go about their lawful activities without fear or apprehension,” the statement added.

The sudden closure of business operations in Nigeria by one of the leading ride-hailing companies, Uber, has continued to generate debate about how unfriendly the country’s business environment has become, particularly to foreign businesses.

Recall that Uber recently closed shop in Nigeria after 12 years of operation, a development that took many by surprise and which has been attributed to an unfair and inhumane business environment.

There is a belief in some quarters that Uber’s exit was not unconnected with the July 30 directive by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, to airport managers to stop Uber and Bolt from operating commercially at airports under its management, pending the finalisation of licence agreements.

The FAAN directive was followed by a deluge of complaints over higher airport transport fares, prompting the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to intervene on August 27.

The minister directed FAAN to address the people’s concerns, but, sadly, only Bolt was later cleared to resume operations at airports.

Although it is believed in certain quarters that the FAAN saga may have been the last straw that broke the camel’s back, Uber had debunked the claim, insisting that its decision to exit Nigeria was unrelated to FAAN’s directive concerning e-hailing operations at Nigerian airports.

It noted that its operations would continue in other African nations apart from Nigeria and Uganda, stressing that the company’s immediate priority was supporting drivers, riders and local team members throughout the transition period.

“Uber remains deeply committed to Sub-Saharan Africa, where we continue to see robust growth and long-term opportunity,” it said.

It added that it focuses its investments on markets where it believes it can add the most value for drivers by providing earning opportunities at scale and enabling riders to go anywhere seamlessly.

The company agreed that the decision would affect its staff but promised that it would speak directly with them and see how it could assist.

“We are committed to supporting affected employees through the transition and will communicate directly with them regarding the arrangements that apply to them.

“We have been in touch with active drivers to extend a token of our appreciation as they transition over the next period.

“Uber for Business services will also be discontinued. We are in touch with partners to support them through the transition,” the company added.

Uber further explained that rider data would continue to be handled in accordance with applicable data protection laws, privacy requirements and Uber’s data protection policies.

“Uber will limit data retention to what is legally required, maintain appropriate security controls, and fulfil ongoing legal obligations and data requests,” it said.

Uber, launched in Lagos in 2014, subsequently expanded to Abuja in March 2016, even claiming at the time that Abuja was its 400th city globally.

Uber Nigeria is part of Uber Technologies Inc., the US-based, publicly traded company behind the Uber platform, headquartered in San Francisco, California.

However, since Uber’s exit, reactions have continued to trail the development, with some people accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government of killing businesses in Nigeria with its unfriendly policies instead of attracting businesses to improve citizens’ living conditions.

Among the leading voices against the government over the continued closure of businesses in Nigeria is the African Democratic Congress, ADC, which alleged that Nigeria was becoming a graveyard for businesses under President Bola Tinubu.

Reacting to the development, the party had said that the exit of the global ride-hailing brand from Nigeria, alongside the closure or scaling down of operations by some major international companies in the country, was an indication that the economic policies of Tinubu’s administration were allegedly turning the country into a “graveyard of businesses.”

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the growing list of businesses shutting down, scaling down or leaving the country had exposed the widening gap between the government’s claims of economic progress and the reality confronting businesses and ordinary Nigerians.

The party said it was surprising to see the Federal Government celebrating a marginal 0.2 percentage-point improvement in Gross Domestic Product, GDP, at a time when businesses were closing, jobs were disappearing and millions of Nigerians were sinking deeper into poverty.

It argued that while the government celebrates a marginal improvement of 0.2 percentage points, Nigeria’s poverty rate had snowballed to 63 percent, affecting an estimated 140 million Nigerians.

The party said: “When the President and his party say things are getting better, we expect them to tell us what has improved in the lives of Nigerians. They should tell us how much food their GDP growth has put on the table. They should tell us which bill it has paid. If 0.2 percent is a mark of success in their books, President Tinubu and APC should tell us what they consider as failure.”

According to the party, Uber’s exit after 12 years in the country reflects the alleged increasingly hostile operating environment confronting businesses, especially the soaring cost of energy and transportation, with the price of fuel rising by as much as 1,700 percent following the removal of fuel subsidy and devaluation of the naira.

“This is precisely why the ADC presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has proposed the restoration of a targeted fuel subsidy to bring down the cost of fuel, transportation and production,” the party added.

It referenced a report by the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN), which indicated that 767 manufacturing companies, including 20 iconic global brands, had shut down or ceased operations in Nigeria since 2023, when President Tinubu assumed office.

The party listed some of the companies that had shut down or scaled down operations in the country as Microsoft, Jumia and Bolt Food, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi-Aventis, Bayer AG, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and PZ Cussons, among others.

“Therefore, when the President announced that Nigeria has turned the corner, we wondered which corner he was talking about. If, indeed, the economy is improving or the slightest hope exists in the minds of those who run these businesses that this APC government can improve the economy, why are they closing shops and moving elsewhere?

“The painful truth is that Tinubu has turned Nigeria into a graveyard for businesses. Every business that shuts down or pulls out is a vote of no confidence in the Tinubu administration and its capacity to manage the economy.

“Each exit delivers a blow to the economy. But perhaps, more importantly, each one represents a massive loss of jobs and increased poverty.

“Therefore, when the APC and its government celebrate even the most negligible shift in GDP numbers and flaunt that as evidence to show that things are getting better, they are immediately contradicted by the painful reality that Nigerians are getting poorer and hungrier.

“Those who had jobs yesterday are not sure how long it would take before their employers would close shop, and those earning salaries are struggling even to transport themselves to work,” the party stated.

Also speaking, an entrepreneur, Gbolahan Olusegun, agreed totally with the ADC, insisting that a hostile business environment, including the fuel subsidy removal, was what pushed Uber out of Nigeria.

“The main issue that pushed Uber out of Nigeria is the hostile business environment. This predicament was made worse by the fuel subsidy removal, which affected the cost of transport.

“The high transport fare equally affected the number of passengers that drivers get in a day, and to make ends meet, the drivers had to cut corners. And with the drivers cutting corners, Uber as a company was operating at a loss because it was not receiving what was due to it from the drivers.

“However, the last straw that broke the camel’s back was the directive by FAAN to stop the company from operating at the airport. Even though the company does not want to accept that as the final knell on its coffin, that is exactly what happened,” he said.

He lamented that the government was insensitive to the plight of Nigerians, stressing that a concerned government would not allow companies that employ hundreds of Nigerians to just close down like that, knowing that it would have a ripple effect.

“With this Uber exit, do you know how many families have been affected? So many people’s means of livelihood have been negatively affected and the government doesn’t care; that’s the irony of it all.

“I just pray and hope that those in the employ of Uber will find another way to keep their families going. But honestly, this government is not helping matters at all.

“The government should be creating an environment that would attract more companies and not contribute to the closure of existing ones, thereby worsening the unemployment situation in the country,” he stated.

The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has ordered the removal of the Niger State Commandant of the corps and directed a full-scale, transparent and unhindered investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of illegal miners in the custody of the Niger State Command.

The heads of Operations, Mining, Legal, Intelligence and Investigation have also been invited for thorough investigation.

DAILY POST recalls that over 30 arrested illegal miners in the custody of the Niger State Command died mysteriously.

Assistant Commandant of Corps, Babawale Afolabi, National Public Relations Officer of the NSCDC, in a statement on Friday morning, said the order followed a directive by the Minister of Interior, Tunji Ojo.

Afolabi added that the CG had directed a new Commandant to proceed to Niger State and assume immediate command of the State Command.

The CG assured the Minister of Interior that no stone would be left unturned in the investigation process, adding that any officer or personnel found to have acted contrary to the law, established procedures or professional standards would face appropriate administrative, disciplinary and, where applicable, criminal sanctions in accordance with extant laws and regulations.

“The NSCDC remains committed to upholding the dignity, safety and fundamental rights of every person in its custody and will continue to ensure that the enforcement of its statutory mandate, including the fight against illegal mining and the protection of Nigeria’s critical national assets, is carried out in accordance with the law and established professional standards,” the statement said.