Connect with us

News

Tinubu under pressure to drop Shettima as running mate

A Northern Islamic group has called on President Bola Tinubu to reconsider his choice of running mate for the 2027 presidential election, urging him to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima in favour of a Northern Christian.
The group, known as the Concerned Northern Muslim Ummah, made the call in a Sunday statement signed by its convener, Bala Duguri.

The appeal, it said, followed extensive consultations with Islamic organisations across Northern Nigeria.

“Our group has undertaken wider consultations across the northern states with different Islamic organisations in a bid to speak with one voice over the political direction in the APC-led administration. The outcome is very encouraging,” Duguri stated.

The group argues that the principle of religious balance is essential for national cohesion, especially after the Muslim-Muslim ticket that saw Tinubu and Shettima elected in 2023.

While that decision was controversial at the time, it ultimately garnered enough support to secure victory. However, Duguri stressed that the Christian community’s support during that election must now be acknowledged.

“The sacrifices made by our fellow Christian brothers and sisters in the 2023 presidential elections, in the spirit of unity and national progress, need to be acknowledged. It’s time for Muslim political actors to make similar sacrifices,” he said.

He further appealed to all Muslim aspirants eyeing the vice-presidential slot in 2027 to “drop their ambitions for the good of the country.”

The statement called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership and President Tinubu to adopt a more inclusive approach.

“After extensive consultations across religious, ethnic, and political lines in the North, we believe the most appropriate step forward is for a Northern Christian to be selected as the Vice Presidential candidate in 2027,” Duguri said.

Though Vice President Shettima has not commented publicly on the matter, speculation has swirled in political circles that Tinubu may be under pressure to reshuffle his ticket.

Duguri concluded that the group’s recommendation was based on “genuine concern for national cohesion, democratic stability, and the continued success of Tinubu’s government.”

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Gunmen abduct Kwara APC chairman’s wife, daughter in midnight raid

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted the wife and daughter of Alhaji Muhammad Swasun, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The victims, identified as Hajiya Fatima and her daughter Amina, were seized on Sunday, September 7, at night when a five-man armed gang stormed the party chairman’s residence in Sakpefu.

Eyewitness accounts revealed that the attackers scaled the compound fence and opened fire indiscriminately to terrify residents before breaking into one of the rooms.

“They entered into one of the rooms where they found his wife and daughter and took them away, shooting into the air,” a party executive told reporters, adding that the chairman narrowly escaped being kidnapped himself.

Another APC member confirmed that the gunmen operated for several minutes before whisking the women to an undisclosed location.

“The bandits abducted his wife, Hajiya Fatima, and his daughter, Amina, and took them to an unknown destination,” the source explained, according to Vanguard.

The latest abduction has heightened anxiety in Patigi, a region already grappling with recurring cases of kidnapping.

Residents have repeatedly urged the government and security operatives in recent months to intensify efforts to curb the menace.

Continue Reading

News

Ace Comedian Ali Baba evicted from Victoria Island property over legal dispute

Veteran Nigerian comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, popularly known as Ali Baba, has been evicted from his luxurious, multi-million-naira property located in Victoria Island due to a court dispute.

The property, which was purchased for ₦220 million by Ali Baba, is the subject of an ownership dispute at the Federal High Court.

Amid the legal dispute, Ali Baba and his company, XQZMOI TV, were evicted from the property located at 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street.

The eviction was carried out by bailiffs of the Federal High Court following a writ of possession signed on August 15, 2025.

The property in question was initially sold to Ali Baba by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in 2021 for ₦220 million.

At the time, AMCON claimed it was recovering debts allegedly owed by Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited.

But Harold Expansion disputed the debt and counterclaimed that they had already made repayments. Their lawyer, Benjamin Olayiwola Sadibo, insisted that the property was sold wrongfully.

On July 31, 2025, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court delivered a verdict that changed everything as he dismissed AMCON’s case, ruling that the corporation had failed to provide convincing evidence of the alleged debt.

The Justice stressed that AMCON did not even present a statement of account to back its claims a fatal omission for a creditor. Worse still, AMCON did not file a defence against Harold Expansion’s counterclaim, leaving the court with no choice but to side with the company.

In addition to ordering the property to be returned to the family of its original owner, the judge also imposed ₦500 million in damages on AMCON.

Ali Baba’s culpability in the case came as a result of the timing of the purchase. Records show that he purchased the property while the case was still in court, despite an existing preservation order.

He was said to have been a tenant of the property’s original owner before AMCON evicted the family and sold it.

Continue Reading

News

Police summon El-Rufai, other Kaduna ADC chieftains over alleged criminal conspiracy

Anti-Open Grazing

The Kaduna Command of the Nigerian Police has summoned former Governor of the state, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, and other top chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In the summons letter dated September 4, 2025, the ADC members were invited for questioning over alleged incitement of public disturbance, criminal conspiracy, mischief, and causing grievous hurt.

Signed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Uzainu Abdullahi, the letter said the invited individuals are required to come and clarify the allegations against them.

“This Department is currently investigating the above-mentioned case involving the following members of your party. You are requested to come along with them to SCID to clarify allegations reported against them by the complainants on 8th September, 2025.

“Mal. Nasir El-Rufa’i, Bashir Sa’idu, Jafaru Sani, Ubaidullah Mohammed, aka 30, Nasiru Maikano, Aminu Abita, and Ahmed Rufa’i Hussaini, aka Mikiya,” the letter reads.

Sani, one of the invited members and ADC North-West Vice Chairman, told Daily Trust that he learned of the invitation through social media.

“Yes, most of us only saw the statement on social media,” he said, declining further comments.

The development followed the heated exchanges between the Kaduna State government and El-Rufai over the violence that rocked an ADC meeting in the state last week.

The government accused the former Governor of plotting to cause destabilisation in the state through provocative actions and inflammatory statements.

In a statement signed by Dr. Suleiman Shuaibu, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, the government said it wouldn’t sit idle and watch El-Rufai plunge the state back into violence, division, and insecurity.

“This Government will not fold its arms and allow a discredited former leader, who left the state in ruins, to ignite chaos and plunge the state into another era of ethno-religious tension, insecurity, and economic stagnation,” the statement read.

Continue Reading

Trending