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No fewer than nine passengers were killed when gunmen opened fire on a commercial bus at Dungus Junction in Kuru community, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Residents told journalists that the incident occurred when the bus driver parked to allow some passengers alight at the junction.

According to Daily Trust the bus which was heading to Jos was stained with blood and riddled with bullets.

Lawan Suleiman, a neighbor and teacher of one of the victims, confirmed the incident, adding that the attack occurred while the bus was stopped at the junction.

He said, “The driver is Ibrahim and he was my student. Three of them are from our community here in Bukuru. Their bodies have been deposited at the hospital. But relatives are preparing to collect them for burial.”

Spokesman of the Berom Youth Moulders, BYM, Rwang Tengwong, also confirmed the incident saying the victims were passengers travelling to Jos when the attackers opened fire on their vehicle.

“The incident happened around 9.40p.m. The victims were all passengers travelling to Jos when the terrorists opened fire on the vehicle. Among those killed was a member of Operation Rainbow. It is a very sad development and we lament the loss of lives.”

According to him, some of the passengers sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to hospitals, where some later died.

Plateau state police command is yet to issue a statement regarding the incident as of press. (Daily Trust)

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More than 600 senior lecturers from public universities across Northern Nigeria have declared their support for President Bola Tinubu’s bid to secure another term in the 2027 presidential election.

As reported by DAILY TRUST, the lecturers made their position known at a stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna convened by the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari, to discuss the administration’s performance and the country’s political direction ahead of the next general election.

The meeting, held at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Centre, attracted several northern political leaders, including Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal, Yobe Governor Mai Mala Buni, Borno Governor Babagana Zulum and Gombe Governor Inuwa Yahaya.

The Minister of Defence, Bello Matawalle, Minister of Housing, Muttaqha Rabe Darma, and former Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, were also among those who attended the engagement.

Presenting the communiqué, the Vice Chancellor of Kaduna State University, Prof Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa, said the academics assessed Tinubu’s administration since May 2023, including its handling of the economy, security, education, infrastructure and social development.

According to the lecturers, although some government reforms had increased the economic burden on Nigerians through higher living and transportation costs, the measures had also improved government revenue and public finances. They further cited developments in education funding, agriculture, infrastructure, business support and the digital economy.

The academics subsequently resolved to support Tinubu’s re-election but cautioned that their backing was not an unconditional endorsement.

They called on the Federal Government to urgently address food and transport costs, unemployment and insecurity, while strengthening investment in education, healthcare, agriculture, electricity, roads and other infrastructure in the North.

However, the Academic Staff Union of Universities distanced itself from the declaration, with its President, Prof Chris Piwuna, insisting that ASUU remains politically neutral.

Piwuna said individual lecturers were free to support any political party or candidate of their choice, but stressed that such decisions must not be attributed to the union.

“We have never, and we will never endorse any political party candidate. Nobody should drag us into such things,” the ASUU president said.

The endorsement came as political consultations intensify ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the Tinubu camp seeking the backing of influential groups across Northern Nigeria.

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The Presidency has rejected calls by former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to restore petrol subsidy, insisting that the government will not reverse the policy.

The Presidency warned that bringing back the subsidy would undermine reforms already carried out in the petroleum sector, create fresh legal and fiscal complications and potentially discourage investment in domestic refining.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this while reacting to Atiku’s proposal to reintroduce a form of petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.

Onanuga described the proposal as “retrogressive” and fiscally unsustainable, accusing Atiku of seeking to reverse reforms in an attempt to gain political advantage ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to him, Nigeria’s petroleum sector has undergone fundamental changes since Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023.

He argued that restoring the subsidy could undermine investments in local refining, including the Dangote refinery and a growing number of modular refineries.

N15.8trn generated since subsidy removal

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the removal of petrol subsidy generated about N15.8 trillion in resources for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025.

Oyedele said the Federal Government received N5.4 trillion from the additional resources, while N10.4 trillion was shared among state and local governments.

President Tinubu has also criticised Atiku’s proposal, describing it as evidence of what he called the former vice president’s lack of understanding of governance and economic management.

Tinubu made the remarks while receiving Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke at the State House.

Why Tinubu removed subsidy

Tinubu announced the end of petrol subsidy during his inauguration speech on May 29, 2023, declaring that “subsidy is gone.”

The policy immediately triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices, with pump prices rising from below N200 per litre to significantly higher levels.

The removal was part of the administration’s broader economic reform programme aimed at reducing government spending on petrol subsidies, freeing public resources and encouraging investment in domestic refining.

However, the policy also contributed to a steep rise in transportation costs and living expenses, with food prices and household costs increasing significantly amid broader economic pressures.

Atiku changes position

Atiku, who supported subsidy removal during the 2023 presidential campaign, has since shifted his position, making the restoration of petrol subsidy a major component of his 2027 economic agenda.

The former vice president argues that Nigerians have yet to see sufficient benefits from the trillions of naira freed by the policy.

He has particularly criticised the impact of subsidy removal on household welfare, arguing that the savings have not translated into cheaper food, improved living standards or meaningful relief for ordinary Nigerians.

Atiku, however, says his proposal would not amount to a return to the opaque subsidy regime of the past.

Instead, he has proposed what he describes as a targeted and transparent intervention focused on domestic refining, with government support capped, budgeted and tied to verifiable production and measurable benefits to consumers.

Under his proposal, every barrel of crude allocated to support the intervention would be tracked to ensure that Nigerians benefit through lower fuel prices.

Atiku said the approach would provide cheaper crude feedstock to Nigerian refineries while ensuring that the resulting benefits are passed on to consumers.

The clash over petrol subsidy is therefore emerging as a major economic and political issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the Tinubu administration defending subsidy remova