Osun State chapter of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, has affirmed Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde as its preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The party also intensified efforts to attract members and structures of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, into its fold ahead of future electoral contests.

The affirmation came as the party concluded its primary elections and announced candidates for National and State Assembly positions across federal and state constituencies in Osun State.

Chairman of the Primary Election Committee, Adewale Adebayo, said Makinde was affirmed across the 332 wards of the state.

Adebayo described the outcome of the primary exercise as a demonstration of unity, consensus and shared commitment among party members.

He said, “In every generation, political movements survive not only by competition, but by cohesion, discipline and collective purpose. Today, APM is sending that message clearly and boldly.”

According to him, “The affirmation of our candidates across all elective positions reflects the confidence of the party in credible leadership and our determination to move forward as one united political family.

“Sometimes, the strongest democracy is not in division, but in agreement built on trust, consultation and common vision.”

Announcing the presidential endorsement, Adebayo said, “After the successful conduct of our primaries, we have Today affirmed His Excellency, Seyi Makinde, the sole presidential aspirant of our great party, as the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement for the 2027 general election.”

He noted that the affirmation followed what he described as the peaceful and successful conduct of the exercise across all 332 wards in Osun State without rancour or disruption.

Adebayo disclosed that the party had activated reconciliation mechanisms aimed at engaging aggrieved members and encouraging them to remain committed to the party’s objectives ahead of the 2026 Osun governorship election and the 2027 general elections.

He also called on members and supporters of the PDP, as well as other Nigerians, to join the APM, describing it as a platform capable of strengthening opposition politics and advancing its political agenda ahead of future elections.

A good governance advocate, Isaac Fayose has expressed optimism that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, may lose the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Ekiti State.

Fayose was reacting to a viral video that captured a mammoth crowd receiving the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede in Ado Ekiti on Friday.

Oluyede and his running mate, Hon. Deji Ogunsakin had stormed the Ekiti State capital to pay a strategic courtesy visit to the Muslim Society in the city.

In the viral video, the PDP candidate was seen accompanied by a very large number of supporters, who vowed to sack the incumbent governor, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the APC via the June 20 governorship election.

Reacting, Isaac Fayose, in a post on his Facebook page, said the ruling “APC is gone” in Ekiti State.

He, however, stated that “the only way for APC now is to rig”, stressing that except the outcome of the election is manipulated, Ekiti people would now have a breath of fresh air.

Isaac Fayose claimed that the end of all the former governors and other political leaders, who, according to him, sabotaged the growth of the state, has come.

“Thank you for coming out today to tell all the former governors in Ekiti State that their time is up. You all came out today to say enough is enough, bye bye to APC”, he added.

Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has said that the various states of the federation have benefited from the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu since May 29, 2023.

AbdulRazaq, who is also the governor of Kwara State, made this remark on Friday in Lagos when the NGF, led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, paid a Sallah homage at Tinubu’s Lagos residence.

He was speaking on President Tinubu’s bold decision to remove fuel subsidies since his inauguration in 2023.

According to him: “I remember we were in China when I got a call from the NSA and DSS DG to be informed that oil subsidy would be removed and there is no going back.

“We went into panic mode, and I sent a message to my colleague governors, and nobody wanted to hear that.

“I gathered my colleagues and decided to book an appointment with you to register our disagreement with the policy, but when the president invited us for dinner, we sat and listened to his vision for the country and at the end of his speech, we couldn’t even bring up the topic. We didn’t even know if he had gotten security reports about why we wanted to see him, but we couldn’t bring up the issue.

“We went back to our room and decided to implement it. So we agreed to call State executive council meetings because we were expecting serious riots due to the removal of fuel subsidies. There were already bad government riots, but lo and behold, there were no riots.

“I think the nation was shocked by the audacity of the president to implement that policy.

“Today, we benefit from that policy. In my own state, we have reduced our debt by 40%. Some states have also cleared their debts.”

Troops of the 1 Brigade, Combat Team 6, have rescued 31 kidnapped victims during a patrol operation along the Bagega–Kawaye road in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
This was contained in a post on Friday night shared on X by security analyst, Zagazola Makama who disclosed details of the operation.

According to the post, the rescue took place at about 6:33 a.m. on May 28 when the troops came across the victims while carrying out routine patrols in the area.

The victims were said to have spent several weeks in captivity after being abducted by suspected armed groups operating in forested parts of Zamfara State.

It was also gathered that the victims were able to escape following an airstrike carried out by a Nigerian Air Force helicopter gunship in the western part of the Bagega forest.

“The fleeing victims were later intercepted and secured by ground troops during follow-up operations in the area,” Makama added.

Security authorities say efforts are ongoing to ensure the rescued persons are reunited with their families after medical checks and necessary security procedures.

The military has continued to reassure residents of its commitment to sustained air and ground operations aimed at dismantling criminal groups and restoring peace in Zamfara and the wider North-West region.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced that all aspirants who purchased Expression of Interest forms will be allowed to participate in its upcoming primaries across the country.

The decision followed long hours of deliberations involving party leaders, members of the National Working Committee, and the Selection Committee, led by a former governor, Sam Egwu, who submitted the screening report after several days of work.

The party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, disclosed the development in a post shared on X on Thursday.

He said the party had reviewed the large number of aspirants who showed interest in its ticket and decided to adopt a more inclusive approach due to time constraints.

“Following the briefing at the joint meeting of the Selection Committee and Screening Committee, it was decided that all those who purchased Expression of Interest forms would be allowed to participate in the primaries in their various constituencies,” he said.

Dickson explained that only successful candidates after the process would be required to proceed to the party secretariat for documentation and payment of nomination forms.

He added that the party had deployed teams across the states to conduct the primaries with the support of stakeholders and local leaders.

“Our party is women- and youth-friendly. We urge the teams to be fair, open and ensure that only credible candidates with winning capacity emerge,” he said.

He also warned against violence during the process, saying the party would not tolerate any form of misconduct.

“We call for violence-free primaries and reiterate our zero tolerance for violent behaviour,” he added.

According to him, the party will rely on manual direct primaries due to time constraints, but plans to adopt electronic systems in future elections.

“As I said earlier, this will be the last manual primary. Future exercises will be fully electronic,” he stated.

Dickson further urged members to support the process, saying the party is being built as a long-term political institution rather than a platform for individual interests.

A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State has announced Chief Dona Nwogbo as the winner of its governorship primary election.

Nwogbo’s emergence was confirmed on Thursday, during a primary election held in Enugu.

The exercise, which also produced candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly seats, was held across the state and culminated in the final collation of results in Enugu.

The development comes amid the lingering leadership dispute within the PDP in the state, with another faction led by Chief Vitus Okechi having earlier conducted separate primaries that produced former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, as its governorship candidate.

Declaring the outcome of Thursday’s governorship primary, the Returning Officer for the Enugu State PDP primaries election, Yarima Edachaba, described the exercise as peaceful and widely participated in by party members.

“By the grace of God, you can see that we have declared the winners of these primaries. By next year, the election itself will commence in full. The turnout was massive in the places we visited. There was no violence or fight in any way,” Edachaba said.

He commended party members for conducting themselves peacefully throughout the process and expressed optimism that the party would remain united ahead of the general elections.

Speaking after the collation of results, the Acting factional Chairman of the PDP in Enugu State, Steve Oruruo, described the exercise as a demonstration of internal democracy and transparent leadership recruitment.

“What happened today was the final collation of the PDP primaries which emanated from different wards via direct primaries. It was a glamorous outing that marked the end of elections in terms of primaries. This is the quality of PDP that was presented without rancour and with a sense of equity and fairness,” Oruruo stated.

He said the quality of leadership in any society was largely determined by the transparency of the recruitment process that produced such leaders.

“Leadership recruitment process should determine the coloration of quality leadership. So the warped value and poor leadership threat that we have witnessed over the years are just mere products of bad primaries of parties. today we have presented a primary devoid of rancour, quarrel and skirmishes,” he added.

Oruruo also dismissed claims of division within the party in the state, insisting that the PDP leadership structure under his faction remained intact and legally recognised.

“Enugu has never had any crisis in the PDP. The leadership of this party exists courtesy of the court secured a judgement that has never been vacated in the high court. Beyond this, the Supreme Court nailed it in the final judgement and clearly made it very visible that it is the BOT led by former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, that controls the PDP.

“That leadership has since appointed leaders at the national level to man positions in the PDP and they are in charge of the processes today. So any other thing violates the law and is tantamount to nullity before the law. Any other party acting contrary to the stipulation of the Supreme Court is acting null and void and of no effect,” he said.

The party also unveiled its candidates for the three senatorial districts in the state.

Basil Aguigwo emerged candidate for Enugu West Senatorial District, while Dr. Nwatu Anthony clinched the ticket for Enugu East Senatorial District. Lady Asogwa Beatrice emerged candidate for Enugu North Senatorial District.

For the House of Representatives, Isaac Onoyima emerged candidate for Igboeze South/Nsukka Federal Constituency, while Nwatu Chukwudi secured the ticket for Nkanu East/West Federal Constituency.

Lilian Ugwuoke emerged candidate for Enugu East/Isi Uzo Federal Constituency, while Onah Uchechukwu picked the ticket for Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency.

Others are Nnaji Erobuike for Enugu North/South Federal Constituency, Chief Cosmas Onyia for Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency, Anikezie Michael for Igbo Etiti/Uzo Uwani Federal Constituency, and Eze Ephraim for Udenu/Igbo Eze North Federal Constituency.

President Bola Tinubu says his administration since its inception has stabilized the telecommunications sector.

Tinubu stated this on Friday in a speech to mark the third anniversary of his administration.

He said after years of severe operational pressures and declining investment, confidence is gradually returning to the sector.

According to him, telecom operators are expanding networks, investing in infrastructure, recruiting Nigerian talent, and widening digital access across the country.

Tinubu said, “We also took decisive action to stabilise the telecommunications sector, which remains one of the most important drivers of modern economic growth.

“A connected Nigeria is a more competitive Nigeria. Digital infrastructure is now essential to commerce, education, innovation, and national productivity.”

The Federal Ministry of Interior has announced fresh measures to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness against the Ebola virus disease despite no confirmed cases in the country.

The development was disclosed in a statement posted on the official page of the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

According to the statement, the minister joined other government officials and emergency response stakeholders at a high-level preparedness meeting held in Lagos on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The meeting, led by Femi Gbajabiamila, reportedly brought together the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, security agencies and health authorities to assess Nigeria’s readiness and strengthen preventive measures against Ebola.

The statement noted that the Ministry of Interior is focusing on tighter border control and screening procedures at airports, seaports and land borders to prevent any possible outbreak in the country.

“While there is currently no confirmed case of Ebola in Nigeria, we are not leaving anything to chance,” the statement read.

The minister also stated that the government was working with the Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and other relevant agencies to improve monitoring and surveillance across entry points into Nigeria.