The Apero Mekunnu Advocacy Group, under the leadership of Amoye Bola Sidiq, has officially joined the Zenith Labour Party as their political partner. This marks a significant shift for the group, which has traditionally remained non-political and focused on advocacy.

The announcement was made on May 25, 2025, at the Apero Mekunnu Secretariat in Ilorin. During the declaration, Amoye Bola Sidiq urged the masses to support the Zenith Labour Party and expressed readiness to cast their votes for the party in the upcoming 2027 general elections.

This collaboration aims to strengthen political engagement and promote the values upheld by the Apero Mekunnu Advocacy Group within the political arena.

convener of the Country First Movement, has alleged that former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa failed to convince his community to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) following his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Speaking during an interview with Arise TV from 16:44, Nwokobia described the APC’s recent actions as fundamentally anti-democratic and counterproductive. “The truth is that the APC has become its own greatest enemy. Let me say in so many ways, and everything it does presently is largely undemocratic,” Nwokobia statedHe cited examples of what he characterized as coercive tactics by APC governors, including demands for resignations from those refusing to defect. “You see the words coming out of Akwa Ibom state, where the governor is saying that if you’re not moving with me to the APC, you have to resign,” he said.The professor specifically highlighted events in Delta State, where he claims Okowa’s attempts to promote the APC met with local resistance. “Then you move to Delta State, where there was a celebration and some fiesta of sorts of the movement of the people from the PDP to the APC. And then you saw the former governor of Delta state, my senior brother Okowa was trying to sell the APC to the people in his community, and they said No, this is not what we know. This is not the party we believe in,” Nwokobia alleged.He described the APC’s response to this rejection as a series of increasingly desperate public gatherings designed to create an impression of popular support. “And anxious to give a semblance of public acceptance, they moved from a convergence in Northwest addressed by the governor of Kaduna state to a convergence in Abuja addressed by several governors to another one in Lagos addressed by the governor of Imo state, and they call themselves a progressive party,” he said.Despite the wave of defections, Nwokobia argued that opposition parties remain resilient and are reorganizing for greater effectiveness. “But the political parties are reorganizing to find, to form a stronger position. But importantly, if there is any movement or party that is jittery in today’s Nigeria, it is the APC,” he claimed.The professor suggested that the ruling party’s focus on defections reveals underlying insecurity about its electoral prospects. “That is why they have left governance to continue to tell us about their ability to form a one-party state and to continue to tell us about no vacancy in 2027,” Nwokobia said.Beyond the defection controversy, Nwokobia made more serious allegations about the APC’s role in destabilizing opposition parties. He claimed that recent statements from APC stakeholders demonstrate orchestrated efforts to undermine political rivals from withinAccording to him, the ruling party has developed a strategy of using insiders within opposition parties to create internal chaos ahead of the 2027 elections. He argued that this represents a deliberate attempt to weaken democratic competition through manipulation rather than legitimate political competition.

The Kano State Government marked the first anniversary of the reinstatement of Muhammad Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano with special prayers, reaffirming its commitment to preserving and upholding traditional institutions in the state.

In a statement on the occasion, the Deputy Governor of Kano State, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo , expressed the administration’s dedication to strengthening traditional institutions and their role in maintaining peace and unity within the state.

Naijaonpoint recall that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf reinstated Muhammad Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano on May 24, 2024, after signing the Kano Emirates Council (Repeal) Bill 2024 into law on May 23, 2024.

The law led to the removal of the emirs of Kano, Bichi, Karaye, and Rano, underscoring the governor’s strong stance on traditional leadership.

During the special prayer session held in honour of Emir Sanusi, Deputy Governor Gwarzo emphasised the vital contributions of traditional institutions in fostering peace, preserving cultural heritage, and uniting communities.

Our traditional institutions are pillars of wisdom, peace, and stability. The administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf holds these institutions in the highest esteem and will continue to collaborate closely with them to promote the collective interests of the people of Kano State,”said Gwarzo.

The prayer session, which was led by prominent Islamic scholars and attended by key stakeholders, served as a moment of reflection, gratitude, and renewed hope for the people of Kano. The event marked the importance of Emir Sanusi’s leadership in maintaining unity and stability in the State.

The Deputy Governor also took the opportunity to commend Emir Sanusi for his exemplary leadership, unwavering commitment to justice, and dedication to the welfare of Kano’s citizens.

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF), Mohammed Sheidu, has decried the chronic underfunding of the Nigerian Police Force, describing the current financial allocations to police stations as “meagre” and wholly inadequate to support effective policing in the country.In an exclusive interview with The Nation newspaper, Sheidu revealed that each police station receives just N45,000 per quarter, equivalent to N15,000 monthly and about N500 daily, as imprest to cover their operational costs.“Police stations are given N45,000 quarterly for imprest. If you like, call it running cost or operational cost, it’s N45,000 for a quarter. Do the math, per day. So, how much to fuel, to file? If there’s diesel, there’s no light. That’s why the type of stations we build now, one of the first things we looked at is: how do we provide stable power to run even basic operations?”, he said.According to Sheidu, many police officers operate in near-impossible conditions, forced to perform their duties with little to no institutional support.“The officers we see every day are miracle workers. They are living and functioning by miracle. They wear their uniform by miracles. There is nothing really there to actually support them fully to discharge their duties. It does not exist”, he said.He further emphasised that the entire structure of police funding needs urgent reform, stressing that fuel allocations from the central budget, for instance, are insufficient to power patrol vehicles throughout the year.“The IG said it. The budget reallocation for just fuelling of cars cannot run them the whole year. If they are lucky, is it four months or eight months a year?. So what happens to the remaining months? Where do you expect them to get funding for fuel to move around like you?” he asked rhetorically.On the legal funding framework for the Police Trust Fund, Sheidu noted that despite constitutional provisions for dedicated revenue streams, many of them remain either contested or unremitted.“There’s the 0.5% of the FAAC allocation, but as of 2022, some states took us to court, so that hasn’t been flowing in. Then there’s 0.005% of the net profit of all companies operating in Nigeria. That’s about N50,000 for every N1 billion in profit—very small. And even that was not collected until 2022 when FIRS finally began remitting”, he explained.He acknowledged that while the Federal Inland Revenue Service has since improved collection, the Trust Fund still faces severe shortfalls due to unresolved legal disputes and non-compliance by some funding sources.In a bid to bridge the gap, Sheidu said the Trust Fund is turning to strategic partnerships with other government agencies, including the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), to address infrastructural challenges in police stations.“REA’s mandate is rural electrification—it’s to light up places. My own mandate, I can build police stations. So we asked: how do you help me light up police stations? We now have that collaboration ongoing,” he said.

In a renewed effort to quell internal tensions threatening the cohesion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki on Friday, May 23, 2025, led a high-powered reconciliation delegation to meet with Enugu State Governor and South East PDP leader, Dr. Peter Mbah.

The closed-door meeting, held at the Enugu State Government House, was the first stop for the newly reconstituted Special Reconciliation and Strategy Committee, tasked by the PDP Governors’ Forum with ensuring unity ahead of the party’s upcoming National Executive Council (NEC) meeting and a likely national convention.

Also present at the meeting were committee members and former governors Senator Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and Dr. Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State.

The visit follows rising tensions within the South East PDP over the national secretary position vacated by Senator Samuel Anyanwu.

In a communique issued last week, the South East PDP Zonal Executive Council (ZEC) re-nominated former PDP National Youth Leader, Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye, to complete the remainder of Anyanwu’s tenure.

The ZEC warned of a potential mass exit from the party if its decision is not respected.

In the event that our position is not promptly implemented by the Party, the South East PDP, as a family, will be compelled to reconsider our relationship with the PDP going forward,” the communique stated.

Speaking to journalists after Friday’s engagement, Saraki described the meeting as “very useful” and said it marked the beginning of efforts to reset the party’s internal dynamics.

“We are members of the PDP Reconciliation and Strategy Committee that was set up recently by the PDP Governors’ Forum to work towards ensuring that our upcoming National Executive Council meeting and also likely convention is rancor-free and works smoothly”

Saraki said He praised Governor Mbah’s leadership in the region and the performance of his administration, calling it “a reflection for Nigerians to see what happens when you have a PDP government.”

“This is the first state we are coming to because we appreciate the importance of the South East in our PDP family,” Saraki said.

3“The South East has played a key role as the bedrock of the popularity and the strength of our party.”

While the delegation did not announce any final resolutions, Saraki noted that the discussions had provided a solid foundation for renewed unity.

“With this, we can say here in Enugu we laid the foundation for a greater new PDP that is coming,” he said.

He acknowledged the magnitude of the internal challenges but expressed confidence in the collective will of the party’s leadership to resolve them.

What we have also seen today is that there is nothing insurmountable in the challenge ahead and the spirit, the commitment of all of us, especially our leaders, is very, very inspiring,” he added.

A Nigerian returnee has accused the United Bank for Africa (UBA) of allegedly clearing N150 million from his bank account based on claims that he was dead.

The shocking allegation came to light during a live video call with human rights activist Gwamnishu Harrison, who has now vowed to take up the case legally.

According to the returnee, who has not yet been publicly identified, the incident occurred in 2023 while he was living abroad.

He revealed that during his time away, he regularly saved money in his UBA account, making deposits up to five times a year. However, upon returning to Nigeria, he was stunned to hear from bank officials that his entire savings had been withdrawn by individuals who allegedly claimed he had died and was already buried.

The man added that when he visited the bank to demand answers, police officers were already on standby to arrest him, accusing him of causing a disturbance. He recounted that all he did was raise his voice out of shock and frustration.

Former National vice chairman (Northwest) of All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman, has expressed concern that ruling party is gradually moving away from its founding ideals of progressivism toward monarchy system.

Speaking on Channels Television  program on Friday,  Mr. Lukman lamented that internal contests had been abandoned in favour of automatic adoptions.

He also expressed disappointment in the party’s current direction, claiming it had drifted from its founding ideals.

Mr. Lukman said: “The APC has moved from a party envisioned to be progressive to almost a monarchy.

“As it is now, the APC mantra is that there will be no internal contest in 2027, the President is adopted. All their governors are adopted. Legislators are also adopted.”

Speaking further, the former APC’s chieftain said that discussions had been ongoing for over a year to establish a viable platform capable of challenging the current political status quo.

He said, “There is nothing stopping the coalition from coming to fruition.

“Even when the governors claimed, for instance, they were not part of the coalition, we responded clearly. Some of them, as you have seen, either have already moved to the APC or are on their way to move to the APC.”

So, clearly, they are doing the bidding of the APC and the ‘Asiwaju’ government. So, we are not bothered about that. We have the PDP bloc in the coalition and nothing is stopping the coalition.

“We are going through a painstaking process and very soon, we are going to come out and clarify all the details, in terms of how we are going to contest the 2027 elections and the leaders of the coalition; all those will be known.”

Former Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, on Friday, May 22, 2025, played host to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The meeting took place at Aregbesola’s residence in Osun.

Atiku shared the development on his social media handle, posting a video of his arrival with the caption: “Breakfast at the residence of former Governor of Osun State, Engr. Rauf Aregbesola.”

The meeting is believed to be part of Atiku’s ongoing efforts to launch another bid for the Nigerian presidency in 2027.

Following his estrangement from President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aregbesola has increasingly become familiar with opposition parties—particularly the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), where Atiku holds significant influence.

In a judgment on Friday, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court was unanimous in holding that the suit was wrongly instituted before the apex court.

The Supreme Court has dismissed a suit filed by the 36 state governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) challenging the federal government’s use of recovered looted funds.

In a judgment on Friday, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court was unanimous in holding that the suit was wrongly instituted before the apex court.

In the lead judgment, prepared by Justice Chidiebere Uwa, but read by Justice Mohammed Idris, the apex court held that the plaintiffs wrongly invoked its jurisdiction.

It held that the subject matter of the suit, marked: SC/CV/395/2021, was within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.

The plaintiffs had claimed that “between 2015 and 2021 when the suit was filed, the FG has secured both international and municipal forfeiture, recovery and repatriation of “stolen assets” in the sum of NI,836,906,543,658.73, about 167 properties, 450 cars, 300 trucks and cargoes, and 20,000,000 barrels of crude oil worth over N450million,” which it allegedly failed to remit as required by the Constitution.

They alleged that instead of paying the cash into the Federation Account, the FG illegally diverted it into the Consolidated Revenue Accounts (CRA) and other accounts not recognised by the Nigerian Constitution.

The states argued that the CRA is the account into which FG’s share from the Federation Account, other federal earnings and funds belonging to specific state governments are paid.

They added that other federal earnings payable to the CRAs include receipts from federal government licenses and land revenue, administrative fees, earnings and sales, rent of government property, interests from federal government investments, repayments from state governments, Personal Income Tax of Armed Forces and others.

The plaintiffs stated that by establishing the Asset Recovery Account and Interim Forfeiture Recovery Account, into which revenue from recovered assets was to be paid, the Asset Recovery Regulation contradicts the provisions of the Constitution.

They noted that since 2015, “numerous recoveries of illegally acquired assets have been secured through anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies,” including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Nigerian Police Force and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

The plaintiffs, citing sections 162(1), 162 (10) and 80 of the Constitution and section 2 of the Finance (Control and Management) Act, 1958, argued that recovered funds qualify as revenue payable to the Federation Account instead of the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Government.

They stated that it is “unconstitutional to remit or divert revenue payable into the Federation Account to the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Government or any other account whatsoever, or to apply the said revenue to any other purpose,” the plaintiffs argued.

The plaintiffs prayed the court to, among others, declare, “that by the provisions of Section 162(1) and Section 162(10) of the Constitution of all income, returns, proceeds or receipts howsoever described derived from confiscated, forfeited and/or recovered assets constitute revenue of the federal republic of Nigeria, must be remitted to the Federation Account for the collective benefit of the federal, state and local governments.

They urged the court to issue a d order compelling the remittance of N1.8 trillion (cash) and N450 billion (non-cash) in recovered loot since 2015 into the federation account.

The plaintiffs also prayed the court to compel the defendants to give a detailed account of the recovered assets that are not remitted into the Federation Account by the President, as well as all the relevant officials and agencies of government.

They also want the apex court to compel the FG, through the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC), to design the modalities for distributing recovered assets among the federating units.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, speaking at the National Policy Summit organized by the All Progressives Congress (APC), delivered a passionate address that blended gratitude, defiance, and an urgent call for continued support from Nigerians. Reflecting on the two years since assuming office, the President reaffirmed his commitment to the “Renewed Hope” agenda, which he says is already bearing fruit despite fierce resistance from entrenched interests.

In a speech filled with sharp analogies and candid admissions, Tinubu made it clear that his administration has chosen the difficult but necessary path to economic recovery. “The subsidy is gone and was gone for the good of this country. We couldn’t just afford to spend the future of our children and on babies ahead of their birth,” he declared.

But perhaps the most jaw-dropping moment came when he referenced the level of corruption unearthed since his reforms began. “How fast will you have constructed this country if you allow the arbitrage in the exchange rates to continue?” he asked. It was then he delivered a shocking revelation that shook the summit to its core: “EFCC found 750 homes in one name, but you’re complaining about rice prices?” The comment, aimed at silencing critics and highlighting the scale of past corruption, sparked both applause and stunned silence.

Tinubu acknowledged the hardships faced by everyday Nigerians, but insisted that the pain of reform is the necessary price for long-term gain. “We have redirected the easy money away from currency speculators and greedy barons… directed this fund to healthcare, education, and infrastructure,” he stated.

While thanking party leaders and Nigerians for their patience, he emphasized that the journey is far from over, but the destination is clear: a stable, industrialized Nigeria. He urged citizens not to abandon ship, reassuring them that the current sacrifices are the foundation for future prosperity. “Stay the course,” Tinubu concluded, “not because it is easy, but because it is the only way.”