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Atiku declares he won’t step down for any contestant
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, denied agreeing to step down for anyone ahead of the 2027 presidential election, insisting he was battle-ready to face other prospective presidential aspirants for the ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a statement issued by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku described such claims as a misrepresentation of his recent interview with the BBC Hausa Service.
“After a thorough review of both the video and transcripts of the interview – in the original Hausa and the English translation – it is evident that at no point did the former Vice President expressly state, suggest, or even imply that he intends to step down for anyone.”
Ibe further stated: “What Atiku clearly and unambiguously said was that young people, as well as other prospective presidential aspirants, are free to enter the contest. He further stressed that if a young candidate were to emerge through a competitive primary, he would readily support such a candidate without any hesitation.
“While interpretative journalism is a legitimate aspect of reporting, stretching interpretation to the point of mischief is unacceptable and must not be encouraged.”
Reacting to the statement, former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, in a post via his official X handle on Thursday, said it would be extremely difficult to defeat the former vice president in a party primary.
He wrote: “His Excellency, the Waziri, reportedly said he would step aside if a younger candidate wins the primaries. The keyword here is ‘primaries’. It’s easier for a camel to pass through the hole of a needle than to beat the Waziri in primaries. Party delegates are a special breed of people.”
Earlier in the interview, the former Vice President disclosed why he could not take some firm decisions to “fix” the crisis that riddled the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Atiku said he could not take firm decisions because he was not the party’s National Chairman or the National Secretary, adding that the National Chairman and the Secretary of PDP didn’t listen to him, hence he was handicapped in fixing the party.
The PDP’s crisis began in 2022, during the buildup to the 2023 presidential election. The lingering crisis led Atiku and other party members to join the opposition coalition, the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Atiku accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of sponsoring some people to destroy the PDP.
However, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, has said there is no war in the party.
He made this clarification on Thursday while responding to questions in an interview on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.
According to him, the party remains solid and united. “I am not fighting any war in PDP because there’s no war in the party. PDP is solid, PDP is together. We are clarifying the situation at the party. And make no mistake about this. Do we have people who disagree? Yes, we do. That is the beauty of democracy.
“Because we are truly a democratic party, we have contestation of ideas and people come with different backgrounds and views, there will be clashes, but the capacity of the PDP that makes it truly a democratic party is inbuilt in our constitution, and that is what I call a dispute resolution mechanism,” he said.
He further explained why the opposition party dissolved its executives in Akwa Ibom State. Akwa Ibom State had been under the control of the PDP since the return of civil rule in the country in 1999. The party, however, lost its grip following the defection of Governor Umo Eno on June 6.
Eno became the second PDP governor in the South-South region, after Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, to join the APC in less than two months. Four months after the governor’s defection, the party decided to dissolve its executives in Akwa Ibom State.
Ologunagba said the PDP excos were being controlled by the governor, who has exited the party. “In Akwa Ibom State, the governor has left. We have noticed at the National Working Committee and party level that there seems not to be a difference between the members of the executives in that state and their alignment with the APC,” he stated.
“Section 10, subsection 6 of this Constitution says, ‘No member of the party shall align with other parties or groups to undermine the party or any of its selected government. It is anathema to belong to two parties at the same time.
“We believe the Akwa Ibom executives are being controlled by the governor, who has gone to the APC. The governor said on tape that he will be in charge of the two parties.”
It was, however, gathered that security operatives have taken over the PDP secretariat in Akwa Ibom to forestall any breakdown of law and order. The development followed claims and counterclaims of the dissolution of the State Working Committee (SWC) by the National Working Committee of the Party (NWC).
Ologunagba dissolved the state executive council and appointed a 31-member caretaker committee, but the National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, issued a counterstatement, declaring that there was no NWC meeting where such a decision was taken.
Chairman of the PDP in Akwa Ibom, Àniekan Akpan, described the purported sack of his executive by the National Working Committee of the party as illegal.
He declared the state executive council as intact, stating that they will serve out the four-year tenure for which they were elected, adding that divisive elements within the party are working hard to undermine the PDP in the state.
The party chairman said he would continue to be identified with Governor Umo Eno, as the governor is not only the leader of APC, but leading the entire state across party lines
“The party cannot separate us from Governor Umo Eno. He is the governor for all. Nobody can say we have engaged in anti-party by hobnobbing with the governor,” he said.
In a significant development for Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, two divisions of the Federal High Court have issued interim injunctions restoring airtime lending services and restraining the enforcement of the contentious regulations introduced by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The FCCPC had introduced the controversial Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional (DEON) Consumer Lending Regulations in 2025 prompting the legal action.
The rulings, delivered in Lagos and Abuja, restored services relied upon by millions of Nigerians and offerred relief to licensed Value Added Service providers caught in the dispute.
In Lagos, Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa on April 15, 2026 granted four interim injunctions in suit marked FHC/L/CS/760/2026, filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPA) against the FCCPC.
The court restrained the commission, its officers and agents from enforcing the DEON Regulations, including several key provisions of the framework.
The court further barred the FCCPC from interfering with the operations of WASPA members, imposing sanctions or fines for alleged non-compliance, or issuing directives connected to the enforcement of the regulations and adjourned to 27 April 2026 for further hearing.
Relatedly, the Federal High Court in Abuja on April 24, 2026 granted an interim order in suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/779/2026 following an ex parte application by Nairtime Holdings Limited and Nairtime Nigeria Limited against MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Networks Limited.
The court restrained both telecom operators, their officers and agents from suspending, restricting or otherwise interfering with Nairtime Nigeria Limited’s access to their platforms, including short codes, SMS, USSD and billing services.
The order applies for the duration of Nairtime’s valid licence issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and prevents the operators from relying on the FCCPC regulations as a basis for any disruption.
The applicants had argued that the planned suspension of services was based on a directive linked to the DEON Regulations, despite their compliance with contractual obligations and the absence of any established breach or required notice.
The court found sufficient grounds to grant interim relief pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Taken together, the two rulings effectively place the enforcement of the DEON Regulations on hold, creating a temporary legal framework that allows airtime lending and related services to continue.
The FCCPC is restrained from acting against VAS providers, while telecom operators are prevented from using the regulations to deny licensed operators access to their networks.
The DEON Regulations, introduced by the FCCPC in July 2025, were designed to extend regulatory oversight to unsecured digital lending, including airtime and data credit services.
However, the move triggered strong opposition from industry stakeholders, particularly the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), which argued that the regulations encroached on the statutory mandate of the NCC, created overlapping compliance obligations and conflicted with an existing memorandum of understanding between both regulators.
ALTON had raised these concerns with the NCC as far back as August 2025, warning that unresolved jurisdictional conflicts could disrupt the market.
The current litigation and its consequences appear to have validated those concerns.
Although the rulings provide immediate relief for operators and consumers, they remain interim measures.
The substantive suits before the courts will ultimately determine the legality and scope of the FCCPC’s authority over digital lending within the telecommunications sector. (Guardian)
By Gloria Ikibah
The path towards a second term for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has effectively been set in motion after nomination paperwork for the 2027 presidential race was obtained within the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The forms were collected in Abuja by Hon. James Faleke, the member representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, who acted on the President’s behalf. The move followed the official opening of the party’s nomination process by its National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Argungu.
A payment of ₦100 million accompanied the collection, marking a significant early step in what is expected to be a closely watched re-election effort.
The development comes against the backdrop of an already published electoral timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which has mapped out key dates for the next general elections.
Voting for the presidency and National Assembly is fixed for 16 January 2027, while governorship and state assembly elections are to follow on 6 February.
The electoral body has also scheduled party primaries between late April and the end of May 2026, with campaigns for federal-level contests expected to begin in August, and those for state offices in September.
With the nomination process now underway, political activity is expected to gather pace in the months ahead as parties begin to organise internally and position themselves for the contest.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially taken a major step toward seeking a second term in office after the purchase of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for the 2027 presidential election.
The development, which effectively signals the start of his re-election campaign within the ruling party, saw the nomination forms, valued at N100 million, obtained on Tuesday in Abuja by Hon. James Faleke, the lawmaker representing Ikeja Federal Constituency and leader of the Tinubu Support Groups. Faleke acted on behalf of the president during the process.
The APC National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Argungu, formally presented the forms at a ceremony marking the official opening of the party’s nomination activities ahead of the next general election cycle.
The move is widely seen as the beginning of Tinubu’s structured push for another term, coming months ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (Independent National Electoral Commission) has already released a detailed timetable for the polls. According to the commission, the presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
The electoral body also announced that political parties will conduct their primaries and resolve related disputes between April 23 and May 30, 2026. Campaign activities are expected to commence later in the year, with presidential and National Assembly campaigns beginning on August 19, 2026, while governorship and state assembly campaigns will kick off on September 9, 2026.Politics
President Tinubu, a member of the All Progressives Congress (All Progressives Congress), is expected to face internal party processes before formally emerging as the party’s candidate, even as preparations for the 2027 general elections gradually gather momentum nationwide.
Key political figures involved in the nomination process include Hon. James Faleke (James Faleke), who facilitated the purchase of the forms on the president’s behalf, and APC’s National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Argungu (Suleiman Argungu), who supervised the formal presentation in Abuja.
With the electoral timetable now in place, political activities are expected to intensify in the coming months as parties begin strategizing for what is shaping up to be a highly competitive 2027 election season.
Court orders MTN, AIRTEL to resume airtime lending services
2027: Campaign Quietly Underway as Tinubu Secures APC Forms
Just in: Tinubu Picks APC Nomination Forms For 2027 Re-Election Bid
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