By Felix Umande

The All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council has dismissed as false an allegation by Timi Frank that the Nigerian Government is plotting to assassinate former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

Spokesperson of the Council, Dele Alake, said in a statement on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, that the claim is grave and must be proven.

He said the Council categorically rejects the claim that the Presidency or the APC Campaign Council is involved in any plot to assassinate the former Vice President or any opposition figure.

“Our attention has been drawn to the statement by Timi Frank, a member of the African Democratic Congress, alleging that the Nigerian Government is plotting to assassinate former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the ADC. This is a grave allegation that Mr. Frank must prove,” the statement said.

Alake urged security agencies to invite Frank to substantiate the allegation, given its gravity and the need to preserve life, and called on Frank to provide any information in his possession to enable prompt investigation.

He also described as totally false the narrative that security personnel attached to the former Vice President have been withdrawn, stating that Atiku remains well protected by the police and the Department of State Security.

“Contrary to the falsehood promoted by Timi Frank, President Tinubu recently directed security agencies to reinforce and increase protection for all presidential, vice-presidential, governorship and deputy governorship candidates across the country,” he said.

“The security around the ADC presidential candidate has never been compromised. As a former Vice President of Nigeria, he enjoys two levels of state-funded security protection. President Tinubu has increased security protection for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as a presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections,” Alake added.

He said President Bola Tinubu, as a statesman and democrat, recognises opposition politics as essential to Nigeria’s 27-year-old democracy, noting that Tinubu was for 16 years the face of opposition before galvanising the movement that defeated the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015.

Alake described Frank’s claim as “typical opposition rabble-rousing meant to heat the polity,” accusing some opposition figures of writing open letters and tagging foreign leaders and international organisations on social media to draw attention.

“As we go deeper into the campaign season, politicians and supporters will continue to make outlandish statements and frivolous allegations to gain political advantage,” he said.

He urged candidates, political parties and supporters to be factual and responsible in public statements and avoid utterances that can trigger tension, adding that political competition should be peaceful, lawful and focused on issues that matter to Nigerians.

By Isa Abdul, Abuja

The deeply embedded contradictions within the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, are more worrying than the fears posed by the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections, according to Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima.

Shettima expressed these fears on Saturday in Abuja while unveiling the campaign head office of Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A), a northern coalition backing the Tinubu/Shettima ticket, and formally inaugurating its campaign structure. In his words:

“Honestly, I am not afraid of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP. I am not afraid of a diminished Peter Obi. But I am more afraid of internal contradictions within our household. If we unite as a people, as a family, we will conquer.”

He cited northern leaders’ who were in the presidential race at the expense of their governors, warning:

“There is no point in championing the cause of the presidential election and then undermining the governor in the gubernatorial election. Honestly, it will not go down well with the system.

“Let’s rally round our governors. Let’s rally round our members of the National Assembly. Let’s rally round President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and see to the victory in the next round of elections.”

Shettims said the North had already made its choice. “By now, I believe the North has spoken. We have spoken with a resounding voice and unmistakable conviction. From Adamawa to Zamfara, from Borno to Niger, we have spoken.”

He reminded the gathering: “In less than 100 days, Nigerians will return to the polls. Democracy requires us to seek their confidence again, with humility about the work outstanding and conviction about the cause we have chosen.”

He told party members how to defeat Atiku Abubakar, charging them “Go and perform. Go and defeat Baba Atiku. Defeat him respectfully,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the party had the structure to contest every polling unit. “There are 176,845 polling units across the country. The APC, from ward to local government levels, has 361,045 officials. What it means is that we can match every polling unit two to two,” he said.

Shettima stressed that each appointee must prove their local strength because “Politics is still local”, adding that he had asked the Borno State governor to compile a list of all political appointees from the state to local government level.

“Let him account for his performance at his polling unit, at his ward unit and in his local government,” he said.

On the party’s standing in the North, he said, “Out of 19 states in the North, 18 are in the APC.” He said 15 of the 18 members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) from Kano in the House of Representatives have crossed to the APC, adding: “The governor is with the APC.”

The Vice President acknowledged that many families are struggling. “Every household struggling to make ends meet reminds us how much remains to be done,” he said. “We lose our hearing when applause becomes our only source of information.”

Defending the administration’s economic record, he said Tinubu inherited a weak economy. “When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed the mantle of leadership in this country, what we had in our foreign reserves was a country with 3.9 billion dollars, barely enough to import oil for one month. And our Ways and Means expenditure was over N27 trillion.

“Nigeria was on the road to Caracas. The economy was teetering on the brink of collapse. He literally saved the nation,” Shettima said, adding that “for the first time in nearly 18 years, our foreign reserves are in the neighbourhood of 58.9 billion dollars.”

He assured that the North has nothing to fear about a Tinubu second term.

“For the North, we have absolutely nothing to fear in a Tinubu second term. He has the North at heart,” he said.

At the event, the National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, moved a motion for the President’s return and asked the audience to affirm it. In his words:

“Today is a time for us to renew a mandate that was largely supported by the North, and the North again will largely support the return of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term.”

He cited the President’s projects in the region, including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Kano-Maiduguri roads. “Those two roads alone are over 900 kilometres, more than the 700 kilometres of Lagos Road,” he said.

The Director General of A4A and former Jigawa State governor, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, disclosed that the new campaign headquarters is at No. 4 Port Harcourt Street, Area 11, Garki, Abuja, describing it as “the biggest campaign office anywhere in the country.” He added:

“Let it be understood that this building is more than just a campaign office. It is a message. It says that Arewa is serious.”

He promised that the group would run “a campaign that is disciplined, peaceful and issue-based,” taking its message to markets, farms, campuses, mosques and churches.

By Felix Umande

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has assured Nigerians and the international community of its neutrality and commitment to the integrity of the ballot as the country begins the final 100-day countdown to the 2027 general elections.

Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, gave the assurance on Tuesday at a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders’ Meeting at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.

“We have moved decisively from planning into execution. Our materials are in production, our technology is undergoing rigorous quality assurance, our register is finalised and our workforce is being systematically trained,” he said, describing the 100-day mark as a call to action.

Prof. Amupitan said since assuming office on October 23, 2025, the Commission had conducted off-cycle governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun, FCT Area Council polls and several bye-elections, which passed integrity benchmarks and tested early deployment of materials and intelligence-led security.

He said of the 14 statutory milestones in the revised timetable released on February 26, nine had been executed, synchronised across 23 headquarters departments, 36 state offices, the FCT and 774 LGAs.

On the voter roll, he disclosed that 10.7 million new voters were registered in three phases of CVR, bringing the national register to 103 million. The register will be displayed for claims and objections from October 9 to 15, while distribution of Phase 1 PVCs begins October 9.

Eighteen of 22 parties submitted 36 presidential tickets, while the final list for National Assembly candidates was published September 12. Governorship and State Assembly lists will be out October 10.

On logistics, Amupitan said production of 57,000 new BVAS devices is advanced, procurement of ballots and result sheets is near completion, and MoUs have been renewed with NURTW, RTEAN and MWUN for over 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats. Sensitive materials will move from CBN vaults 72 hours before polls to 8,838 RACs by 4pm on election eve to enable 7:30am opening.

On technology, a six-day BVAS stress test is scheduled for October 23-28, with nationwide mock accreditation in November. He announced a new Artificial Intelligence Division within ICT operating under human oversight.

On security, he said INEC working through ICCES will train thousands of electoral security personnel and deploy joint undercover teams with EFCC, ICPC and NFIU to track vote-buying. Violators will face arrest under the Electoral Act 2026.

INEC requires 707,384 ad-hoc staff per election day — January 16 and February 6, 2027 — totalling 1.4 million engagements across 176,846 polling units. Recruitment via INECPRES opened September 18 and closes November 18.

He warned against AI-driven disinformation, urging media to fact-check and avoid premature results declaration. “In national elections, it is far more important to be right than to be first,” he said, adding that the Media Accreditation Portal will go live before end of October.

Representing the IGP, AIG Alyonu Idu said police are conducting clearance operations in Kogi, Niger, Benue and Taraba to stabilise flashpoints and will review pre-election work in November.

EU Ambassador Gautier Mingot described INEC’s task as “Herculean” and said the EU will deploy an expert mission for the polls.