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Just in: APC Backs President Tinubu, Says Poverty Is A Global Practice
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, has condemned too much emphasis on hardship and poverty in the country while neglecting gains the economy has recorded.
This Nigeria news platform understands that Felix Morka said President Bola Tinubu’s policies were the right policies that would put the country on the path of progress and prosperity.
In an interview with Arise News on Thursday, Morka condemned the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi‘s comment on poverty and hardship in the country.
He stressed that under successive governments before the APC took over in 2015, Nigeria had the challenge of multi-dimensional poverty.
He pointed out that the President appreciates the challenges. He said over time the gains of the government’s policies would translate into the life of Nigerians.
“The President in his statement was very clear. He did lay out some of the major progress that this administration has attained in the last several months.
“While also acknowledging that there remain challenges to the country, economic challenges, even security challenges at the country. The president is being very balanced and very real with Nigerians. He is not trying to gaslight anyone. He is calling it as it is.
“Now having said that, economics is economics. Economics is not magic.
Macroeconomic gains will in time translate to specific dining table, living room benefits to Nigerians. That is already starting. Now you see, I listened to your previous guest, who was speaking about poverty as though Nigeria has been without poverty since our independence or even before independence.
That is not the case. As of 2012, 2013, 2014, nearly 50% of Nigerians lived in multi-dimensional poverty. I think it is really misleading for anyone, whether it is Mr. Peter Obi or anyone else to come on national television to speak about poverty as though poverty dropped from the sky last night. It didn’t. No one wishes for any citizen to be poor or to live in poverty or to struggle with basic necessities. No one. Not the President, not myself, not any Nigerian, I believe. But unfortunately, that is the human condition.
“Even in some of the wealthiest countries of the world, people struggle and they initiate programs that are aimed to transform the fundamental conditions that create or sustain poverty. That is what this President is doing.
“Now if the richest countries of the world can initiate policies and actually create targets which are monitored over the short, medium and long term for those targets to be achieved, now who says that we mustn’t do that? That once a policy is announced, everything is supposed to completely resolve.
“Now look at the energy sector. We are seeing improvements. Yes, there was that deregulation, that whole removal of subsidy which created initial pain and maybe the pain continues to linger. However, with the reforms that are beginning to now bear fruit, we have local refineries that have been moribund for long periods of time, over decades. But they didn’t function,” he said.
The APC spokesman highlighted the improvement in the energy sector with the coming onstream of Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
Morka further assured Nigerians that with the refineries coming on stream the high cost of petrol would come down. He said that would also translate to a reduction in the high cost of living.
“Through the significant portion of the PDP administration in this country, these refineries were simply just sitting there. Nothing was going on. Now, it is running. Warri has just started to run. So my point is that the benefits from all of this, in terms of economies of scale, how this then translates to maybe cheaper fuel, we’re already seeing stability.
“This is the first Christmas I know in recent years where we’re not queuing for petrol. That is a benefit. The price has just lowered in the last couple of weeks. That is also a benefit. And over time, competition, when Warri is producing, Port Harcourt is producing, hopefully, Kaduna begins to burn and Dangote is also producing.
“There’s no way that we’re not going to see a progressive decrease in price of petrol to make it easier for people to actually buy fuel and power their machines, whether it’s cars or other forms of machine. But I think that we need to all just take a perspective and understand that these benefits we speak about are beginning to come down in the way it matters,” he added.
Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), died on Saturday after a prolonged illness.
His death was confirmed by former Secretary-General of the NFA, Sani Ahmed Toro.
Galadima was a prominent figure in Nigerian sports administration, having led the NFA before it was restructured into the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
He also served as Chairman of the Kano State Sports Council between 1981 and 1983.
Born in 1951 in Fagge, Kano, Galadima had a long-standing career in sports governance.
He was a member of the National Sports Commission and was elected Vice President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee in 1985, a position he held until 1987.
He was later reappointed as Chairman of the Kano State Sports Council and continued to play key roles at both state and national levels.
Galadima also served on the Presidential Monitoring Committee on the development of sports facilities for the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship, which was initially scheduled to be hosted in Nigeria but later relocated due to health-related challenges.
In addition, he was a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Youth Championship Organising Committee.
In 2002, he was elected Chairman of the then Nigeria Football Association, further cementing his legacy as one of the country’s influential sports administrators.
Burial arrangements will be announced later according to family sources.
Tragedy struck the Panshanu Hill stretch of the Bauchi-Jos federal highway on Friday evening as a horrific multi-vehicle collision claimed the lives of eleven persons, leaving thirty-two others with life-threatening injuries.
The victims, including women and children, were reportedly burnt beyond recognition when the vehicles involved in the crash erupted into a massive fireball upon impact.
According to a crash report released by the RS12.14
Toro Unit Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps
(FRSC), the accident occurred at approximately 6:40
PM. FRSC personnel, who arrived at the scene within ten minutes of the report, battled to rescue survivors from the mangled, smoking wreckage.
The crash involved a white MAN mini-tanker, identified as part of the Nigerian Police fleet, and a white FIAT J5 Boxer commercial bus with registration number KTU624XY.
Preliminary investigations by the FRSC identified
“dangerous driving” and the use of “worn-out tyres” as the probable causes of the carnage. The impact, which occurred on a single, unpaved carriageway, sent both vehicles off the road and triggered an immediate inferno.
A breakdown of the casualties paints a heart-wrenching picture of the disaster. Out of the 43 persons involved in the accident, 11 fatalities were recorded, comprising one male adult, three male children, five female adults, and two female children.
The 32 injured survivors, including five male children, 19 female adults, seven female children, and one male adult, were rushed to a nearby general hospital for emergency treatment.
The Bauchi State Command of the FRSC has reiterated its warning to motorists to avoid overspeeding and ensure their vehicles are in roadworthy condition, especially when navigating the treacherous bends of the Panshanu Hill.
The 2026 UTME, which began on April 16, is expected to continue until April 22 across examination centres nationwide.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Friday announced that it had released the results of 632,788 candidates who sat for the first day of the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
A statement by the JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin noted that the results of candidates who sat the 2026 UTME on Thursday, 16 April 2026, have been released and are now available for viewing.
To check their results, he advised candidates to send UTMERESULT via SMS to 55019 or 66019, using the same phone number (SIM) used during registration.
He, however, said that at this stage, candidates may view their results only; printing is not yet available.
The 2026 UTME, which began on April 16, is expected to continue until April 22 across examination centres nationwide.
How To Print Your Official Result Slip
The result slip carries the candidate’s passport photograph, full scores, and details required for admission processing.
It will be made available for printing on JAMB’s e-Facility portal at efacility.jamb.gov.ng and attracts a fee of N1,500.
Once activated, candidates should follow the steps below.
– Visit efacility.jamb.gov.ng.
– Log in with your registered email address and password.
– On your dashboard, click Print Result Slip.
– Click Continue with Payment and pay the N1,500 fee.
– Select 2026 as the examination year and enter your JAMB registration number.
– Download and print the result slip.
Check Your Score Via SMS
– Make sure you have at least N50 airtime on the phone number linked to your JAMB registration.
– Send UTMERESULT to 55019.
– Your score will be delivered to you via SMS.
Other Tips
– If you have forgotten your password or email address, use the Forgot Password option on the portal or visit a JAMB office with your registration details.
– Keep multiple printed copies of your result slip, as institutions typically request it during screening and admission.
– Use only JAMB’s official websites — efacility.jamb.gov.ng or portal.jamb.gov.ng to avoid scams.
JAMB Cautioned Against Manipulation
Candidates were strongly cautioned against manipulating the SMS received from the official platform (55019/66019) to fabricate or alter scores with the intent to mislead others, including parents.
“Such actions constitute a serious criminal offence. The Board treats such misconduct with the utmost gravity.”
“Currently, two candidates and one parent are in custody for engaging in result falsification using AI and other electronic means. Any candidate found culpable will face the full consequences of the law”, JAMB warned.
The examination is ongoing, and results will continue to be released as they become available.
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