Metro
Targeting the Ally to Weaken the Principal: The Politics Behind the FCT Storm
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By Abraham Amah
Politics rarely unfolds on the surface. Its deepest battles are often waged indirectly, through proxies, symbols, and calculated distractions. What Nigeria is presently witnessing in the sustained political storm around the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory is not an isolated disagreement over governance style or administrative choices. It is a strategic attempt to weaken the principal by attacking the ally. At its core, this unfolding drama is less about Abuja and more about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The current effort to politically discredit President Tinubu has assumed a multilateral character. It is no longer driven by a single opposition tendency but by converging interests that share little in common beyond grievance and exclusion. One front of this convergence has materialized under the banner of a coalition that presents itself as an alternative platform. Yet a closer examination reveals that this grouping is not united by ideas, policy clarity, or a coherent national vision. Rather, it is bound together by dissatisfaction, personal injury, and unresolved political loss.
Those who parade themselves as the new face of opposition are, in truth, familiar actors with long political histories that inspire more questions than confidence. Their records do not reflect a transformative legacy or a capacity for national reinvention. This reality makes it difficult to interpret their sudden unity as anything other than an alliance of aggrieved interests seeking relevance through political disruption rather than democratic persuasion.
Alongside this coalition effort is a more sophisticated maneuver. It is the deliberate targeting of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. This is not accidental. In political arithmetic, Wike represents a substantial pillar within the broader coalition that produced the Tinubu presidency. His influence cuts across the South South, the South East, and significant political networks beyond these regions. To weaken Wike is to weaken a considerable portion of President Tinubu’s political support base. The calculation is simple and cold. Remove the ally and the principal becomes exposed.
This explains why the attacks on the FCT minister have been relentless and emotionally charged. They are designed to provoke isolation, induce internal fractures, and compel the President into difficult political choices. However, this strategy rests on a fundamental misreading of the man at the center of power. President Tinubu is not unfamiliar with political plots. He is a student of power, shaped by decades of contestation, negotiation, and survival within Nigeria’s complex political terrain. He understands that leadership is not sustained by panic or appeasement but by clarity, loyalty, and strategic patience.
Those who imagine that President Tinubu will sacrifice a key political ally to satisfy orchestrated outrage fail to appreciate the deeper logic of power. Politics is not governed by noise but by structure. It is not driven by momentary sentiment but by long term calculation. Tinubu knows that once a leader begins to abandon allies under pressure, authority itself begins to dissolve.
The suggestion, in some quarters, that Governor Siminalayi Fubara represents a political alternative capable of replacing Nyesom Wike within the national power equation further exposes the superficiality of the argument. Governance, especially at the highest levels, is not an apprenticeship program. It demands political maturity, institutional memory, and the ability to navigate crises without external tutelage. Comparing a relatively new political actor to a seasoned political operator is not only unrealistic but intellectually dishonest. One is still learning the alphabet of power. The other has long mastered its language.
Beyond individuals, this moment invites a broader philosophical reflection on Nigerian politics. Coalitions built on resentment rarely endure. Power pursued through sabotage often collapses under its own weight. History teaches that nations do not progress when political actors substitute grievance for vision and conspiracy for competence. What endures is not the loudness of opposition but the depth of preparation and the discipline of leadership.
In the final analysis, the storm around the Federal Capital Territory is a mirror reflecting a larger struggle for relevance and survival within Nigeria’s political elite. It is a test of political maturity for all involved. For President Tinubu, it is a familiar terrain, one he has navigated before. For his critics, it may yet become a lesson in the limits of political engineering.
Power, after all, is not merely seized. It is sustained through experience, alliances, and an unspoken understanding of when to stand firm and when to yield. Those who seek to weaken the principal by targeting the ally may soon discover that they have underestimated both.
Metro
Military Airstrikes Wipe Out Nine Terrorists In Borno
The Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) has reportedly neutralised nine suspected terrorists during a precision air strike in Dumba, Borno State.
The operation, which also destroyed three carts suspected to be carrying weapons and other logistical supplies, was carried out on Saturday, August 8, following credible intelligence on the activities of suspected terrorists in the area.
Security analyst Zagazola Makama disclosed details of the operation in a statement shared on X, saying the strike was conducted as part of an armed reconnaissance and air interdiction mission.
According to Makama, the Nigerian military aircraft arrived over the Dumba area at approximately 2:58 p.m. after receiving intelligence indicating the presence of suspected terrorists operating within the vicinity.
He said the aircraft initially detected a group of three suspected terrorists moving along a road. A second group comprising six suspected terrorists was also spotted nearby, allegedly pushing three carts believed to be loaded with weapons and other logistics.
Rather than immediately engaging the targets, the aircraft reportedly maintained surveillance and tracked the movements of both groups.
Makama said the two groups eventually converged and stopped at a location inside the bush, providing the aircraft with an opportunity to conduct the strike.
He stated that the military aircraft subsequently carried out a precision strike on the identified targets, resulting in the reported neutralisation of all nine suspected terrorists and destruction of the three carts.
The operation forms part of ongoing military efforts to disrupt the activities of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating in Borno State and the wider North-East.
The Nigerian military has continued to rely on intelligence gathering, aerial surveillance and targeted air operations to locate and disrupt terrorist movements, particularly in remote areas that can be difficult for ground troops to access.
Dumba and other parts of Borno remain among the areas where security forces have sustained operations against insurgent groups.
The latest strike is expected to further disrupt the movement of fighters and supplies in the area, particularly given the destruction of the carts suspected to have been used to transport weapons and logistics.
However, details of the operation, including the specific identity or affiliation of the suspected terrorists, were not immediately disclosed.
The reported casualties could not independently be verified at the time of filing this report.
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Metro
Flood wreaks havoc in Minna communities, destroys properties worth N100m
Flood has wreaked havoc in parts of Minna, the Niger State capital, destroying properties estimated at over N100 million and displacing several residents of the metropolitan city.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday following a heavy downpour that overwhelmed parts of Imani community in Minna South and M.I. Wushishi area of the metropolis.
A former Chairman of the Niger State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Abdullahi Idris, and a community leader in the affected area confirmed the development in a statement made available to journalists.
According to them, several houses were submerged, while vehicles, electrical appliances, fences and other valuables were damaged by the flood.
At M.I. Wushishi Housing estate, Tunga, Maitunbi, Chanchaga and Shango areas during a visit by DAILY POST, residents said the heavy rain destroyed fences, houses and swept away everything that stood on its part .
Members of the M.I. Wushishi Housing estate at the Eastern-Bypass of Minna, stated that floodwater swept through parts of the community, carrying debris and damaging houses, vehicles, a mosque and an Islamic school.
The residents blamed the worsening situation partly on inadequate drainage infrastructure, which they said had left communities vulnerable whenever there was heavy rainfall.
They also raised concerns over a dam reportedly constructed in the area by a man identified as Captain Taylor, saying the situation had become more severe in recent years.
The affected residents appealed to the Niger State Government, humanitarian organisations, philanthropists and other stakeholders to urgently intervene, provide relief to displaced families and address the drainage challenges responsible for recurring flooding.
They warned that without urgent measures, further heavy rainfall could result in more destruction and put lives and property at greater risk.
Metro
Suspected vandal killed by collapsed transmission tower in Delta
A suspected vandal was crushed to death after a 330kV transmission tower collapsed along the Ughelli–Benin transmission line in Delta State, the Transmission Company of Nigeria has said.
The incident occurred on Saturday, August 8, 2026, and was discovered during an intensive patrol by TCN’s Delta Sub-Region Lines Maintenance Department (LMD).
According to TCN on X on Saturday, the patrol was conducted after the Ughelli–Benin 330kV transmission line tripped on an earth fault.
The maintenance team traced the fault to Tower 101, which had collapsed.
“Linesmen found a suspected vandal crushed to death under a collapsed vandalised transmission tower,” TCN said.
The company added that the victim’s body was found “crushed between the tower members.”
Further inspection of the area revealed that Tower 101 on the adjacent Ughelli–Sapele 330kV transmission line had also been seriously vandalised.
However, TCN said the second tower was still standing at the time of the inspection.
The transmission company condemned the vandalism and appealed to host communities and members of the public to remain vigilant around power infrastructure.
TCN urged Nigerians to report suspicious activities around electricity installations to security agencies or the nearest TCN office.
“The fight against the vandalism of power infrastructure is one that must be inclusive. All hands must be on deck for this fight to be won,” the company said.
TCN warned that tampering with power infrastructure poses serious risks to lives and national assets.
“This incident is a tragic reminder of the extreme dangers of tampering with power infrastructure,” the company said, adding that vandalism “not only leads to power outages and damage to national assets, it also endangers lives.”
The company described the protection of electricity infrastructure as a civic responsibility and called on the public to help prevent further vandalism.
“Stop the vandals, or they will stop power for us all,” TCN said.
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