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US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a “good” meeting on Thursday in which they agreed that the Strait of Hormuz “must remain open”, the White House said.

Iran has largely blocked shipping through the vital waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas normally passes, since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on February 28.
“The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy,” the White House said.

The vessel Lng Dubhe, a LNG tanker sailing under the flag of Hong Kong, leaves the Port of Bilbao after her stopover at the Bizkaia Bay Gas (BBG) regasification plant in the Spanish Basque city of Zierbena on March 9, 2026.

China is directly affected by the lack of petroleum crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

More than half of the crude imported by sea to China comes from the Middle East and mainly transits through the strait, according to maritime analytics firm Kpler.

According to the White House, Xi expressed an interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the strait in the future.

Beijing’s own readout of the meeting did not mention any such interest.

For its part, the White House statement did not mention any discussions between the two leaders on Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing and a sensitive subject in US-China diplomacy.
Xi earlier warned that “conflict” between China and the United States could break out, should the issue be mishandled, Chinese state media had reported.

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Ex-Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko, on Thursday officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mimiko, who governed Ondo State from 2009 to 2017, had resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in April before announcing his decision to join the ruling party.

The former governor made the announcement at the APC Ward 7 Secretariat in Ondo West Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking at the event, Mimiko said his decision to join the APC was driven by his desire to contribute to the socio-economic and political development of the country, as well as support the re-election bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.

He acknowledged the economic challenges facing the country but expressed optimism that the policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration are laying a solid foundation for national development.

Welcoming Mimiko into the party, the Ondo State APC Chairman, Kolawole Babatunde, said the former governor’s defection would strengthen the party’s prospects in the state.
Babatunde praised Mimiko’s leadership qualities and his contributions to the development of Ondo State and Nigeria, adding that the party and the state governor were pleased to receive him into the APC.

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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, on Thursday dismissed reports of an alleged alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), describing the claim as “Political 419.”

Speaking with journalists on Thursday, during an inspection of ongoing road projects in Gomani-Yangoje , Kwali Area Council, Abuja, Wike accused Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, of misleading Nigerians with claims of a PDP-APM alliance ahead of the 2027 elections.

“When I say people are fraudulent, they thought I was joking. And that’s the 419 we are talking about,” Wike declared.

He said both the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were not aware of the existence of such alliance.

“There’s no alliance between PDP and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) or any other political party, as the case may be. INEC also knows that there’s nothing called PDP-APM alliance,” he stated.

According to him, ongoing political activities within the PDP, including the screening of aspirants, clearly showed that the party remained independent and had not entered into any coalition arrangement.

“PDP has presented a presidential candidate and watch out who will be submitted to INEC and see whether there’s anything called PDP-APM,” he added.

Wike further alleged that Makinde was pursuing his personal presidential ambition through the APM platform.

“What you have is Seyi Makinde joining APM to be able to actualize his presidential ambition, which is already dead on arrival,” the minister said.

He insisted that Governor Bala Mohammed had never spoken of any PDP-APM alliance, adding that the narrative was merely a political imagination.

“It’s unfortunate. We know that has been his game plan and we would say he cannot fly the flag of PDP,” Wike said.

The minister also reacted to comments credited to the Governor of Rivers State concerning his continued membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the governor has not told anyone to pity him.

“Sorry for what? Why are you saying problem when nobody has told you he has a problem?” Wike asked.

“The man has told you he still remains APC. So what is the problem now?”

He maintained that issues concerning the governor’s standing within the APC remained the party’s internal affair.

“Ask me about PDP, I will answer you. Because how will you ask me whatever happens? Assuming he has a problem, it’s their internal affairs,” he stated.