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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

A faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by Nafiu Gombe has picked Professor Chris Uba as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The party disowned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its flag bearer.

The group said the party had already completed its presidential nomination process in line with its constitution and the Electoral Act, adding that Uba emerged as the recognized candidate after all required procedures were concluded.

The faction also disowned the National Working Committee headed by former Senate President David Mark, saying it has no constitutional or legal authority to act on behalf of the party.

It maintained that the recognized leadership of the ADC remains in charge of the party’s affairs.

According to the statement released on Wednesday, the clarification became necessary to stop attempts to create confusion about the party’s position ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The group said the ADC had not entered into any alliance, merger or coalition with any political party.

added that the party remains independent and intends to contest the elections with its own structure, manifesto and leadership.

The faction said it believes Uba has the experience, character and capacity to lead the country if elected in 2027.

It also warned Atiku against presenting himself as the ADC’s presidential candidate, saying such a claim is false and could mislead party members and the public.

The group added that the ADC would not allow its platform to be used by politicians pursuing personal ambitions or by coalition groups seeking to take over the party’s structure.

It said every constitutional and legal step would be taken to protect the party from what it described as unauthorised use of its name and platform.

The faction also dismissed reports suggesting that there were plans to stop the ADC from participating in the 2027 elections, expressing confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission and the country’s electoral process.

It said the party is preparing to present candidates for the presidency, governorships, National Assembly, state assemblies and local government elections across the country.

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Three brothers have appeared before the Mbabane Magistrates Court in Swaziland on a murder charge following the brutal de@th of their mother’s boyfriend.

The accused, Mlondi Mbuli, 25, Sakhelwe Mbuli, 18, and Lindani Mdziniso, 23, all from the Hholoshini area in Eswatini’s Hhohho Region, are alleged to have fatally assaulted Njabulo Ngwenya on June 28, 2026.

According to police, the brothers att@cked Ngwenya with bricks, stones, sticks, open hands, and kicks to different parts of his body. Investigators allege the assa¥lt was motivated by the brothers’ belief that Ngwenya was having a relationship with their biological mother.

Court records state that the incident was reported after Sibongile Motsa, also from Hholoshini, informed police that she discovered her son, Njabulo Ngwenya, lying deed inside her sister’s house at about 1 a.m. on June 28, 2026.

The matter came before Principal Magistrate Sfiso Vilakati during the trio’s initial court appearance.

The three defendants have been remanded in custody until July 10, 2026, pending committal of the case to the High Court for further proceedings.

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday, disclosed that he directed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to provide roads and other engineering infrastructure to the 3,112-unit Renewed Hope City in Karsana before residents could occupy the estate, and the minister wasted no time in carrying out the directive.

The President, represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, made the disclosure while commissioning the 10.5-kilometre Access Roads to the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates in Karsana West District, Abuja.

He said the completion of the road network fulfilled the directive he gave during the groundbreaking of the housing project, stressing that no housing estate could function without access roads and supporting infrastructure.

“When I performed the groundbreaking for the 3,112-unit Renewed Hope City here in Karsana, I gave one clear directive: provide the roads, provide the engineering infrastructure, and unlock this district for development. Housing without access is a blueprint without a building.

“For too long, Abuja’s story was ‘awarded and abandoned contracts’. Today, we are ending that story with roads that open, not ones that stall,” he said.

Tinubu said he specifically instructed Wike to immediately open up the district because “civil servants, families and investors cannot live in houses they cannot reach.”

“I gave that assignment to a Minister who treats deadlines as duties. I told the Honourable Minister of the FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, CON, that civil servants, families and investors cannot live in houses they cannot reach. ‘Open Karsana, and open it now.’ He took that brief, set the pace and delivered.

“When urgency meets quality, results follow. That is what you are standing on today.”

The President said the newly completed Arterial Roads N11, N16, N40 and Special Important Local Street 03 have linked Karsana West to the Outer Northern Expressway, making thousands of affordable housing units accessible, livable and secure.

He praised Wike for what he described as the visible transformation of the Federal Capital Territory, saying the minister had turned stalled projects into completed infrastructure.

“You took stalled corridors and made them active corridors. You brought the same urgency to Karsana that you brought to other districts and the area councils. You measure contractors by output, not promises. Minister, you have earned my trust and you have my commendation,” Tinubu added.

He also commended Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Mahmoud, engineers and officials of the FCT Administration for ensuring the project was completed on schedule and according to specification.

The President further praised Lubrik Construction Company for delivering the project after it was awarded the contract in February 2025, assuring contractors that his administration would continue to honour prompt payment for jobs delivered on time and to specification.

Earlier, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Barr. Nyesom Wike recalled that Karsana was inaccessible when Tinubu performed the groundbreaking for the Renewed Hope Estate in 2024.

“For those of us who were here that day, I was imagining how anybody would come and live in this area because there was no road,” he said.

The minister disclosed that developers had expressed fears that their investments would become worthless without access roads, but he assured them the government would intervene.

“I told them, ‘It is Renewed Hope. Go home and sleep. We must construct the road in this Karsana district.’ Today, it is a different story.”

Wike said the project became possible because the Federal Government ensured prompt payment while the contractor fulfilled its obligation by delivering within schedule.

He also announced that the FCT Administration would next Wednesday, July 8, flag off the construction of Kaba- Kagini – Zaudna road following recent request by residents over its deplorable condition.

In her remarks, FCT Minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud, described the project as another milestone in the implementation of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, saying the roads would boost economic activities, improve connectivity and expand access to affordable housing across the territory.

While celebrating the successful completion of the access roads, Mahmoud called on residents and stakeholders to take collective ownership of public infrastructure by protecting and preserving it for the benefit of present and future generations.