National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Sen. Ajibola Basiru has reacted to the request of the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, to launch his campaign in the presidential villa.

Sowore had written to the authorities seeking permission to launch his campaign in the presidential villa.

During an interview on Channels Television, Ajibola was asked if he would advise his party to allow Sowore have his way. The APC Secretary simply dismissed the activist as a skit maker.

“Sowore is a skit maker. Let him struggle to even get a seat in the House of Assembly as a politician, and then people will begin to take him seriously,” he said.

Speaking further, Ajibola said that even rejected ballot papers had more votes than Sowore’s AAC in the 2023 election.

He added, “Sowore is my friend. We were in the trenches together. He’s a skit maker. He knows that that will not happen. Let him struggle to even get a seat in the House of Assembly as a political party. Then people will begin to take him seriously.

“Even rejected ballot paper had more votes than his party in 2023 election. So that means that rejected ballot paper is more popular than his political party. So he’s just making skits.

“He knows that he’s not contending anything. If I see him, I will tell him, ‘you are just a comedian’. He’s a comedian.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima has told 36 state governors to stop waiting for the Federal Government to fix their electricity problems.

Shettima said states can now generate and distribute their own electricity under the Electricity Act 2023.

He spoke on Wednesday at the National Stakeholders Workshop on the Electricity Act 2023 at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Shettima was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia.

He said Nigeria cannot build a competitive industrial economy without reliable power for businesses, households and public institutions.

According to him, the Electricity Act empowers states to develop and regulate their own electricity markets.

“The Act empowers States to develop and regulate intrastate electricity markets within the applicable constitutional and statutory framework.

“State governors can fix electricity without the Federal Government. The size, diversity and endowments of this nation demand this decentralisation.

“Electricity supply must become a shared responsibility, pursued with innovation and accountability across the federation. Our States must shed the habit of waiting for the Federal Government to provide every answer,” he added.

The Vice President cited solar potential in Sokoto, Borno and Katsina, gas resources in Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa, and hydro opportunities in Niger and Kebbi.

He urged states to turn the resources into investments that can power agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare and education.

Shettima warned that the law alone will not give light and urged states that have not set up their own electricity regulators to do so immediately.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has uncovered an illegal herbal medicine production facility in Agege, Lagos State, where products were found carrying a falsified registration number.

The agency announced the discovery in a statement posted on its official X account on Wednesday, explaining that the operation followed a report on herbal products allegedly bearing fake NAFDAC registration numbers.

According to NAFDAC, its investigative team conducted surveillance before identifying three variants of Asheitu Adams Bitters carrying registration number A7-1827L.

“Verification through NAFDAC’s NAPAMS portal revealed that the registration number belongs to Greentol Cough Syrup, confirming its fraudulent use on the herbal products,” the agency stated.

NAFDAC disclosed that the facility’s managing director and chief executive officer was not present when officials carried out the operation. However, the company manager was arrested for further questioning.

The agency called on members of the public to provide credible information about suspected illegal manufacturing activities through its call centres on 0800-1-623322 or 0700-1-623322. Reports can also be sent

The latest discovery comes less than a week after NAFDAC uncovered a suspected counterfeit drinks factory at the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos State, where two people were arrested over the alleged production and repackaging of fake alcoholic and energy drinks.

The agency said the operation exposed unhygienic production conditions in which suspects allegedly used counterfeit labels to rebrand empty bottles of expensive wines before refilling them with adulterated alcoholic beverages.

Amnesty International has condemned the arrest, detention and four-year prison sentence handed to 23-year-old journalist Farida Isiak in Kaduna State, describing the case as vindictive and an attempt to silence press freedom.

The organisation said the journalist’s arrest and subsequent sentencing were linked to her attempt to expose alleged police misconduct involving her parents.

Isiak, a reporter with Nagarta Radio in Kaduna, was reportedly arrested at about 10pm on Monday, October 20, by police officers under the command of the Divisional Police Officer of Mararaban Jos, Usman Adamu.

According to Amnesty International, the incident began with a disagreement between Isiak’s mother and a neighbour over a ₦100 change during a charcoal sale.

The organisation alleged that police officers initially arrested her mother and later detained her father when he went to seek her release, using their detention to compel the journalist to report to the police station.

When Isiak arrived, officers allegedly accused her of defamation over a Facebook post criticising their treatment of her parents.

Amnesty International said she deleted the post and apologised in an attempt to secure her parents’ release, but the police allegedly continued to detain her before taking her to a Sharia Court in Kawo.

The court subsequently sentenced her to four years in prison or a fine of ₦1.75 million on a defamation charge.

Describing the proceedings as a sham trial, Amnesty International said the court failed to address the alleged police misconduct that triggered the incident.

“The arrest, detention, and hasty sentencing of Farida Isiak are a flagrant abuse of power by the police and weaponisation of the judicial system to silence free speech and intimidate journalists,” the organisation said.

It added that detaining the journalist’s parents to compel her to surrender to the police was an unlawful tactic that violated the rule of law.

“Demanding accountability for police actions is a constitutional right,” Amnesty International said.

The human rights organisation called on the Kaduna State Police Command and Nigerian judicial authorities to secure Isiak’s immediate release, drop the charges against her and cancel the fine imposed by the court.

It also urged the Nigeria Police Force to launch a full and independent investigation into the conduct of the officers involved in the alleged unlawful detention of the journalist’s family.

Amnesty International further called on Nigerian authorities to stop using defamation charges and the judicial system to harass journalists and restrict press freedom.

The organisation warned that the case raises concerns about the protection of freedom of expression and the ability of journalists to hold public institutions accountable without fear of intimidation or retaliation.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda has claimed that some opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are backing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Yilwatda made the claim on Tuesday in Abuja after meeting with Tinubu alongside the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdul’aziz Yari.

The meeting was to brief the president on preparations for the APC’s presidential campaign ahead of the 2027 elections.

The APC chairman listed the PDP, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and the Accord Party as opposition parties supporting Tinubu’s second-term ambition.

“If you look at what the party is doing now, the opposition parties are with us. All political parties that have defeated us in any election are with us; PDP is with us, APGA is with us, Accord is with us.

“These are the only political parties that have defeated us, except Allied People’s Movement, and they are all with us in this campaign,” Yilwatda said.

However, the PDP has rejected claims of its support for Tinubu’s re-election, insisting that the party remains opposed to the APC-led Federal Government and its policies.

In a statement, the opposition party dismissed reports attributed to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, suggesting that PDP candidates should dismantle their political structures and support Tinubu’s re-election.

The PDP described the reported call as an attempt to misrepresent the position of its genuine members, accusing some individuals within the opposition of working in favour of the ruling party.

“The true and principled members of the Peoples Democratic Party are not part of the shameless, self-serving support for the APC-led Federal Government and its destructive policies,” the statement said.

The party argued that the primary responsibility of the opposition was to offer Nigerians an alternative to the ruling government, rather than support its continued stay in power.

It added that any proposed alliance among opposition parties should be directed towards strengthening the opposition rather than collaborating with the APC.

“If at all opposition parties are to have an alliance, it will be amongst themselves, not with the governing party,” the PDP stated.

The party also criticised the proposed “rainbow coalition,” describing it as a threat to electoral democracy and warning that such an arrangement could undermine political competition in the country.

The PDP urged its members to remain committed to the party while awaiting the outcome of its case at the Court of Appeal, which it said had already been heard.

The Social Democratic Party, SDP, presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo has dismissed President Bola Tinubu’s position on the fuel subsidy regime.

Adebayo described Tinubu as the Pharaoh of Egypt and not Moses that can lead Nigeria into the promised land.

He was reacting to Tinubu’s remark that his administration will never return to Egypt on the issue of fuel subsidy.

Featuring on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Wednesday, Adebayo said Tinubu’s comment is not relevant to the SDP.

He said: “The idea of going back to Egypt is not relevant to us, I don’t think that Tinubu is addressing us in that regard because he has no answer to our own.

“And if you want to go biblical or Quranic now, Tinubu is the Pharaoh and not Moses because if you want to be a Moses you will have manner for the people, have kindness for the people, and when Moses was taking Israelites out of Egypt he ensured that he took them out of desert and provided manner for them, he took care of them very well.

“You can see that the policies of the President are looking like that of Pharaoh where you take care of yourself and neglect the needs of the people, you don’t allow them to express their God-given qualities.”

He insisted that Nigerians are trying to move from the All Progressives Congress, APC, into the “promised land.”

Adebayo said the SDP had a better chance of taking Nigerians into the promised land.

“If you look at it at the end of the day, what Nigerians are trying to do is basically to move away from APC and go to the promised land.

“I think SDP has a better chance of taking them there,” he added.

Nigerian content creator, Broda Shaggi has finally returned to social media months after his sudden disappearance.

 the skit maker has been absent online since March 2026, after he was shot while filming at Sango Ota Bridge, Ogun State.

Confirming the news, the Lagos State police command explained that the incident was officially reported by a private hospital he was first rushed to in the Alakuko area of the state.

The report, which surfaced online on March 13, has left netizens, especially his fans worried about his well-being and whereabouts.

However, returning to social media in an emotional video shared on his Instagram page late Tuesday evening, Broda Shaggi said the incident happened on March 9.

Describing it as “a day in my life I wished never happened”, he showed a short video of him being rushed to the hospital with a gunshot injury and blood stains.

He said he would be sharing the details of the shooting with the general public on Wednesday.

Troops of Operation Enduring Peace (OPEP) have secured the release of an abducted civilian in Plateau State.

The victim was reportedly abducted along Cubana Street in Bassa Local Government Area of the state.

Security analyst Zagazola Makama, in a post on X on Tuesday, quoted security sources as saying the incident occurred at about 10:05 p.m. on October 18, 2026, prompting troops from Sectors 1 and 3 to launch a search-and-rescue operation.

According to the report, the troops conducted search operations in Dutsen Kura, Rafin Bauna and Rafiki communities to locate the victim and track down the abductors.

However, the troops did not make contact with the fleeing suspects during the operation.

The security sources added that the victim was later released following sustained pressure mounted on the abductors by the troops.

The rescued civilian was subsequently reunited with his family, while efforts were ongoing to track down and apprehend the fleeing suspects.

The sources added that security operations would be sustained to prevent further incidents and improve safety in the area.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned manufacturers, importers, distributors and dealers of SIM-enabled devices to comply with its type approval and device verification requirements or risk having non-compliant devices restricted from accessing Nigerian mobile telecommunications networks.

The Commission said it was strengthening the monitoring and enforcement of existing regulations through technology-enabled verification to ensure that devices imported, sold and used in Nigeria meet applicable standards.

The NCC disclosed this in a notice signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Nnenna Ukoha, reminding Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Original Device Manufacturers (ODMs), importers, distributors, dealers and retailers of their statutory obligations under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, the Type Approval Regulations 2024 and the Type Approval Business Rules 2024.

According to the Commission, all device models intended for importation, assembly, distribution or sale in Nigeria must obtain the required NCC Type Approval, as stipulated in Section 132 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and Regulation 4 of the Type Approval Regulations 2024.

It also directed OEMs, ODMs, importers and other responsible suppliers to ensure that the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) information of individual devices is submitted through the approved compliance process for verification before sale and distribution.

The Commission urged distributors, dealers and retailers to verify that devices already in their stock meet the applicable type approval and verification requirements, advising them to work with their suppliers to resolve any outstanding compliance issues.

It added that new imports must also satisfy the requirements before being introduced into the Nigerian market.

The NCC said it had engaged OEMs, ODMs, importers and relevant industry associations as part of its participatory regulatory approach.

It, however, encouraged businesses that had not participated in the engagements or were uncertain about the compliance process to seek guidance through its approved onboarding and support channels.

The Commission explained that the automated type approval compliance process would strengthen its oversight of devices entering Nigeria and improve its ability to identify potential irregularities in their importation and distribution.

It added that the initiative, being implemented in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, would support the reconciliation of import records, compliance with applicable duties and fair competition among businesses.

The NCC warned that, upon full implementation, devices that fail to meet the applicable requirements could be restricted from accessing Nigerian mobile telecommunications networks in line with the approved enforcement framework.

The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to working with industry stakeholders to facilitate compliance, protect consumers and promote a fair and sustainable market for communications devices.