–Askes Benue Indigenes to Support Gov Sani

By Felix Umande

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deserves a second term and urged Northerners to shelve presidential ambitions until 2031.

Akume stated this on Saturday in Kaduna during a pre-campaign engagement with Benue State indigenes resident in Kaduna, where he said any Northerner contesting against Tinubu in 2027 would be acting against the collective interest of the North.

According to him, power rotation between North and South, agreed upon in Kaduna, remains the formula that has sustained Nigeria’s unity and territorial integrity, and must be respected. In his words:

“Anybody who is from the North and running for the presidency is an enemy of the North. It is not yet our turn. The North’s turn is in 2031. Prepare to vote for Tinubu.”

The SGF warned the gathering not to be deceived by “pretenders” driven by personal ambition, describing one opposition figure as inconsistent. He added:

“Forget that other one making noise that he was going to remove fuel subsidy. He is always flip flopping. He says something today and changes gear the next minute.”

He argued that President Tinubu has been fair to all sections of the country in appointments and distribution of projects, without religious bias.

“Let us remember that the President has been fair to all in terms of appointments and others. He doesn’t favour one religion over the other. Just look at the figures,” he said.

Akume said Benue has benefitted from numerous federal interventions under Tinubu in healthcare, roads and education, adding that over 65 percent of NELFUND beneficiaries are from the North.

He also praised Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State as a believer in the vision of the late Sardauna and called for his re-election.

“Kaduna State is a historic city that gave us meaning and purpose. Your governor is a good man and he has done well for this state. Let us return him to power too,” he said.

The SGF emphasized unity, peaceful coexistence and preservation of cultural heritage as vital for national progress, noting that leadership, not ethnicity, should guide political choices.

“I was Governor of Benue State and the Fulanis were there. It is about leadership. If Asiwaju was not a good leader, I would not tell you otherwise,” he said.

The meeting, attended by Benue indigenes and political stakeholders, focused on community interests and political participation ahead of 2027.

Dignitaries present included former Jigawa Governor Saminu Turaki, Dame Pauline Tallen, Sen. Abu Ibrahim, Minister of Water Resources Prof. Joseph Utsev, and Minister of Steel Development Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, among others..

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.