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Two More PDP Reps Dump Party for APC as Opposition Scrambles for Emergency Meeting

By
Ola Akinola
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The Peoples Democratic Party’s freefall deepened on Wednesday as two House of Representatives members formally defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), triggering an emergency caucus meeting of the remaining PDP lawmakers.

In separate letters read during plenary, Hon. Engr. Rodney Ebikebena Ambaiowei (Sagamu/Epe/Ejigbo, Bayelsa) and Hon. Abubakar Boko (Boko/Boko, Bauchi) cited the PDP’s “protracted leadership crisis” and “confusion over which faction controls the party” as reasons they could no longer stay.

Rodney, Chairman of the Nigeria–Switzerland Parliamentary Friendship Group, said the chaos had made it “increasingly difficult to effectively represent my constituents.”

Boko, who chairs the House Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies, added that he reached the decision after “wide consultations with my family and constituents.”

Both lawmakers have notified their ward executives and tendered formal resignations from the PDP.

The defections were greeted with applause from the APC side, with one senior ruling party member joking that the APC is “the biggest and greatest party in Africa.” The presiding officer quickly shut down further comment “for obvious reasons,” sparking laughter across the chamber.

Within hours, PDP Minority Whip Rt. Hon. Ali Isa Jegede fired off an urgent notice convening an emergency caucus meeting of all remaining PDP House members for 2:00 p.m. Wednesday in Room 4-1-7.

Sources say the agenda is simple but grim: stop the bleeding.

With Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara and 16 state lawmakers already gone, and now two more federal lawmakers jumping ship, the PDP’s once-mighty legislative bloc is shrinking fast — and 2027 is looking bleaker by the day.

The opposition’s emergency huddle begins in less than two hours. Expect fireworks.

Pharmacists Fire Back at Doctors: CPAN Brands NAMDA Petition “Fear-Driven, Unacademic Rubbish”

By
Toyin Adebayo
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The Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria (CPAN) has torn into the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) with a blistering, evidence-loaded rebuttal, accusing doctors of launching a “fear-driven, intellectually dishonest” campaign to block consultant pharmacist and consultant nurse cadres.

In a statement signed by National Chairman Dr. Maureen Nwafor and National Secretary Dr. AbdulMuminu Isah, CPAN dismissed NAMDA’s December 1 petition to the Head of Service as “recycled falsehoods dressed up as scholarship” and “riddled with contradictions, emotional blackmail, and claims that collapse under the lightest academic scrutiny.”

“NAMDA’s document is not an academic submission — it is a panic attack on paper,” Dr. Nwafor declared. “It contains zero citations, zero new evidence, and 100% fear of losing monopoly.”

CPAN systematically demolished NAMDA’s core argument that pharmacists and nurses lack “clinical relevance”:

– Multiple peer-reviewed Nigerian and global studies show pharmacist-led interventions dramatically cut medication errors, boost adherence, and improve outcomes in diabetes, hypertension, HIV, asthma, epilepsy, and mental health.
– Even pharmacy interns and residents have published research proving measurable clinical impact — “something no honest academic can dismiss,” CPAN said.
– Consultant pharmacists are standard in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and South Africa — countries Nigeria wants to emulate, not lag behind.

CPAN reminded everyone that the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Act 2022 — signed into law three years ago — is the current legal framework, rendering NAMDA’s reliance on decades-old statutes “legally obsolete and deliberately misleading.”

Dr. Nwafor warned that blocking consultant cadres would condemn Nigeria to “a 20th-century health system while the rest of the world moves forward.”

In a direct appeal to the Head of Service and the National Council on Establishments, CPAN urged: “Do not let fear masquerading as expertise derail reforms our patients desperately need.”

Ending with a call for unity, the pharmacists declared inter-professional rivalry a luxury Nigeria cannot afford: “Our common enemy is disease and death — not each other. History will judge those who chose turf wars over patient lives.”

The gloves are now off. Nigeria’s health sector power struggle just went nuclear.

Your Legacy Means Nothing If Insecurity Continues” – Religious Leaders Warn Tinubu

By
Ola Akinola
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0

Nigeria’s top religious and traditional leaders have issued a stinging, united rebuke to President Bola Tinubu: fix the country’s spiralling bloodshed or everything else you do will be meaningless.

The extraordinary message — delivered in person at a packed interfaith summit in Abuja on Monday — came from a rare coalition of Catholic cardinals, leading imams, Pentecostal presidents, and northern emirs who declared the security crisis a “national and spiritual emergency” now resting squarely on the President’s desk.

“Nigeria’s problem predates President Tinubu,” the leaders conceded in their communiqué. “But as the president of the day, the bulk of the job lies on his table. Everything he is doing will be meaningless if we don’t tackle insecurity.”

They issued the same blunt warning to the National Assembly: “You will have no constituencies left to represent if communities are consumed by violence.”

The high-powered gathering, organised by the Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, featured Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Sheikh Nurudeen Lemu, Rev. Stephen Baba (CAN Vice Chairman), Sheikh Nuru Khalid, Archbishop Sunday Onuoha, the Emir of Bangudu, the Emir of Doma, and dozens of other Christian, Muslim and traditional heavyweights.

Rev. Fr. Canice Enyiaka set the tone in his keynote: “When one Nigerian is killed, the entire nation bleeds. When one child is kidnapped, the whole nation is kidnapped.”

Quoting both the Bible and the Quran, he declared: “Whoever kills a single soul, it is as if he has killed all of humanity — and whoever saves a life has saved all of humanity.”

Speaker after speaker insisted no religion justifies the slaughter ravaging communities from Zamfara to Benue, and condemned clerics who remain silent or allow extremists to hijack faith.

The summit resolved to:
– Establish a Joint Interfaith Advocacy Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief
– Push for a National Commission on Freedom of Religion or Belief
– Strengthen local interfaith peace committees and early-warning systems
– Launch quarterly national interfaith consultations
– Document every incident of hate speech and religious violence

Archbishop Onuoha added a pragmatic note: “If we can borrow billions from abroad, we can also seek security expertise — but never at the cost of our sovereignty.”

Rev. John Hayab, Country Director of Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, called the meeting “a moral wake-up call to every leader and citizen.”

As the clerics and royals filed out of the hall, their message hung heavy in the air: Nigeria’s soul is bleeding — and the President has run out of excuses.

FCT Police Nab Zamfara Man Trying to Buy 1,000 Rounds of Ammunition for Bandits

By
Ola Akinola
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0

A 32-year-old man from Gusau, Zamfara State, has been arrested in the Federal Capital Territory for allegedly attempting to procure 1,000 rounds of live ammunition for bandit groups terrorising the North-West.

Ahmed Abubakar, who resides in Anguwan Dodo, Gwagwalada, was picked up on Saturday, 7 December 2025, at about 3:30 p.m. by operatives of the Mabushi Police Division acting on credible intelligence.

Security analyst Zagazola Makama, citing police sources, disclosed on Tuesday that Abubakar had contacted a serving soldier, Corporal Yusuf Mohammed, offering cash in exchange for the ammunition supply.

The suspect reportedly told the soldier the bullets were destined for bandit camps in Zamfara.

The arrest comes amid heightened concerns over the infiltration of arms trafficking networks into the FCT and the growing collaboration between serving military personnel and criminal elements.

Police authorities say Abubakar is currently in custody and assisting investigators, while efforts are underway to apprehend Corporal Mohammed and any other accomplices.

The FCT Police Command has yet to release an official statement, but sources say the suspect will soon be charged with criminal conspiracy and illegal arms procurement.

The development has once again spotlighted the deadly nexus between bandits, rogue insiders, and the illicit arms trade fuelling Nigeria’s decade-long insecurity crisis in the North-West.

Senate Backs Tinubu’s Benin Intervention: Troops Deployment Gets Swift, Unanimous Approval

By
Ola Akinola
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The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday granted accelerated approval for President Bola Tinubu to deploy troops to the Republic of Benin, giving full legislative cover to the dramatic military operation that helped foil last Sunday’s attempted coup in Cotonou.

The decision followed an urgent letter from the President, read on the floor by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in which Tinubu formally sought Senate consent under Section 5(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Tinubu told lawmakers he had already consulted the National Defence Council and acted on an SOS from Benin’s President Patrice Talon, who requested “exceptional and immediate air support” after mutinous soldiers briefly seized the national television station and announced the overthrow of his government.

Describing the situation as “an attempted unconstitutional seizure of power,” the President warned that the crisis threatened democratic institutions across the sub-region and required urgent external intervention under existing ECOWAS security protocols.

Moving swiftly, Akpabio referred the request to the Committee of the Whole. After less than ten minutes of debate, senators voted unanimously in favour, with no objections recorded.

“An injury to one is an injury to all,” Akpabio declared, stressing that instability in any neighbouring country directly endangers Nigeria and the entire West African bloc.

The Senate President directed that the formal letter of approval be transmitted to the Presidency immediately.

Recall that on Sunday, 7 December 2025, Nigerian fighter jets and ground forces were deployed on Tinubu’s direct orders, joining loyal Beninese troops and ECOWAS contingents to crush the coup plot led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri’s “Military Committee for Refoundation” within hours.

With Tuesday’s Senate endorsement, Nigeria’s intervention, already hailed across the region, now carries full constitutional backing as a formal peacekeeping mission.

The upper chamber’s swift action underscores the growing alarm over successive coups in West Africa and Nigeria’s determination, under President Tinubu’s ECOWAS chairmanship, to draw a firm red line against unconstitutional changes of government.

First Lady Remi Tinubu Breaks Silence on Viral Mic Clash with Adeleke: “Public Figures Are Judged Harshly”

By
Ola Akinola
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0

First Lady Remi Tinubu Breaks Silence on Viral Mic Clash with Adeleke: “Public Figures Are Judged Harshly”

Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has finally spoken on the now-viral moment she threatened to “switch off” Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s microphone during the 10th coronation anniversary of the Ooni of Ife on Sunday.

In a measured Facebook post late Monday, accompanied by a smiling photograph of herself and the governor, Mrs Tinubu wrote:

“Public figures are often judged harshly for actions that might otherwise be overlooked in private settings. Let us continue to pray for our leaders and our nation.”

She did not mention the incident directly, but the timing and wording left little doubt.

The awkward exchange occurred moments after Mrs Tinubu was conferred with the prestigious title of Yeye Asiwaju Gbogbo Ile Oodua by the Ooni, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

Governor Adeleke, famous for his dancing and lively public performances, had taken the stage to deliver a goodwill message when he broke into a Christian praise song. Mrs Tinubu returned to the podium twice — first flashing five fingers to signal time was up, then declaring in Yoruba, “Mo maa pa mic yin o” (“I will switch off your mic”) before adding in English: “Enough of the music. Five minutes.”

The governor quickly wrapped up amid laughter and applause from the star-studded audience that included former President Olusegun Obasanjo, several governors and top traditional rulers.

The video exploded across social media within hours, triggering a national firestorm. Critics accused the First Lady of disrespecting a sitting governor and overstepping her ceremonial role, while supporters insisted she was simply enforcing protocol at a highly choreographed royal event.

On Tuesday, Osun State First Lady, Chief (Mrs) Titilola Adeleke, moved to douse the flames, posting warm congratulations to Mrs Tinubu on Instagram and describing her as “an epitome of elegance, strength and grace.”

Neither the Osun State Government nor the Presidency has issued an official statement on the incident.

Political observers say the episode — however brief — has reignited conversations about protocol, power and personality clashes in Nigeria’s often theatrical political space, especially with 2026 governorship elections already casting long shadows over Osun State.

For now, the First Lady appears content to let her understated social media response close the chapter, even as Nigerians continue to debate whether it was a harmless auntie-to-nephew correction or an uncomfortable public dressing-down of an elected governor.

PDP Slams Fubara’s APC Switch: “Pitiful Self-Inflicted Wound” – Democracy on the Brink

By
Ola Akinola
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0

The People’s Democratic Party has unleashed a withering broadside at Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, branding his shock defection to the All Progressives Congress as a “pitiful” act of self-sabotage that exposes the rotting core of Nigeria’s democracy.

In a statement dripping with sarcasm and sorrow issued Tuesday in Abuja, PDP National Publicity Secretary Comrade Ini Ememobong confirmed Fubara’s formal jump ship after months of political bloodletting in the oil-rich state.

“This news, as pitiful as it is, exemplifies the old legal maxim *Volenti non fit injuria* — to one who is willing, no harm can be done,” the party jabbed, accusing the governor of charting his own path to political exile.

Fubara dropped the bombshell at a tense stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt on Tuesday evening, December 9, 2025, crediting President Bola Tinubu for his survival during the state’s chaotic emergency rule earlier this year.

Without Mr. President, there wouldn’t be any His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara,” he admitted, flanked by allies as he declared: “Our decision this evening is that we are moving to the APC.

But the PDP isn’t buying the narrative of betrayal from his old camp. “Anyone who followed the chain of events knows he willingly chose this path,” Ememobong shot back. “He cannot now turn around and accuse our party — or anyone — of abandoning him.”

The party poured cold water on Fubara’s gripes about lacking “protection,” insisting he owes a debt of gratitude to the PDP, civil society, and everyday Nigerians who rallied to his defense amid the brutal power struggle with his godfather-turned-nemesis, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

“Trauma may cloud memory, but the governor should have nothing less than praise for those who stood with him until he capitulated,” the statement read, laced with a warning: “We pray he doesn’t succumb to Stockholm Syndrome — falling in love with his captor.”

Beyond the personal sting, the PDP elevated the drama to a national crisis, painting Rivers as a stark warning of democracy’s fragility. “This is a testament to our dysfunctional system, where individuals tower over institutions and weaponize federal might to suffocate opponents,” Ememobong thundered.

With 16 pro-Wike lawmakers already defecting to the APC last Friday — citing the PDP’s “intractable crisis” — Fubara’s move leaves the South-South PDP a ghost of its former self, the last holdout in a region once painted red.

Analysts say it hands Wike a crushing victory, reshaping alliances ahead of 2027 and fueling fears of a one-party stranglehold.

“Democracy faces severe attack from the ruling party’s unrelenting push for dominance and the shrinking political space,” the PDP warned, rallying “all well-meaning Nigerians” to unite against this “ignoble slide toward electoral authoritarianism.

On X, reactions poured in like monsoon rain. “Fubara’s defection proves Wike owns Rivers,” one user scoffed, while another lamented: “Spineless move — insulted everyone who backed him.

Pundits like Reuben Abati piled on: “He defected for a second term, not the people.

For Fubara, it’s a high-stakes gamble on Tinubu’s grace. For the PDP, it’s battle cry time: “We pity the governor and wish him well” — but Nigeria’s democracy? That’s the real casualty in this Rivers reckoning.

BREAKING: Former AGF Abubakar Malami Arrested by EFCC Over Alleged Terrorism Financing Links

By
Ola Akinola
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0

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday evening arrested Nigeria’s immediate-past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, in a dramatic raid linked to ongoing investigations into terrorism financing and money laundering.

Sources inside the anti-graft agency confirmed that Malami was picked up at his Abuja residence shortly after 7 p.m. and taken to EFCC headquarters for interrogation. He is expected to remain in custody overnight as investigators grill him over alleged “professional and institutional engagements” that reportedly crossed into suspicious financial dealings with individuals and entities now under probe for terrorism-related offences.

The arrest comes barely 24 hours after Malami issued a fiery public statement rejecting “guilt by association” and listing landmark anti-terrorism and anti-money-laundering laws he championed between 2015 and 2023, including the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.

EFCC sources described Tuesday’s move as the culmination of months of intelligence gathering, claiming that certain transactions and legal services provided during Malami’s tenure “raised red flags” under the very laws he helped enact.

One senior investigator told NewsFocus on condition of anonymity:
“The irony is not lost on us. Some of the provisions in the 2022 Acts are exactly what we are using to question him tonight.”

Neither the EFCC nor Malami’s legal team has issued an official statement as at press time, but family sources described the former minister as “calm and cooperative,” insisting he has “nothing to hide.”

The arrest has already sent shockwaves through legal and political circles, with many describing it as the boldest move yet by the EFCC under its new leadership.

Rivers Governor Fubara Dumps PDP for APC in Stunning Pre-2027 Switch

By
Ola Akinola
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0

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has ditched the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), capping months of high-stakes drama in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta hub.

Fubara dropped the bombshell Tuesday at a packed stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt’s Government House, framing the move as a “commitment to stable governance and alignment with partners who back Rivers’ progress.

The defection, greenlit by President Bola Tinubu after a hush-hush Monday powwow in Abuja, comes hot on the heels of 17 pro-Wike lawmakers jumping ship to the APC just days ago—flipping the state assembly’s power balance and leaving Fubara’s loyalists sidelined.

The governor, once Wike’s handpicked successor who clinched the 2023 PDP ticket with his godfather’s blessing, has been locked in a brutal feud with the now-FCT Minister since late 2023.

What started as a tussle over state resources and appointments escalated into impeachment bids, assembly arsons, and a six-month emergency rule that ended in September—leaving Fubara’s PDP footing shaky and his 2027 reelection dreams in jeopardy.

“This is in the interest of Rivers people,” Fubara declared, signaling a thaw in his rift with Wike and a pivot toward federal muscle.

He’s now the latest big fish to swim to the APC this year, joining a wave of governors and lawmakers bolting from the PDP amid its deepening fractures—echoing the party’s NEC shakeup with a new caretaker committee just yesterday.

Social media erupted with reactions, from cheers of “strategic genius” to jeers of “opportunist flip-flop,” as X users dissected the power play.

For Fubara, the accountant-turned-governor who rode to victory with over 300,000 votes in 2023, this could be the lifeline to solidify control—or the spark for fresh chaos in the PDP’s crumbling fortress.

One thing’s clear: Rivers’ political waters just got a whole lot murkier.

Army Denies Troops Shot Women in Adamawa Clash; Blames Militia Fire

By
Ola Akinola
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0

The Nigerian Army has issued a firm denial of reports alleging that soldiers killed two women during a violent communal clash in Adamawa State on Monday. The rebuttal comes after an online media report claimed escorts of the 23 Brigade Commander opened fire on female protesters.

In a detailed press release on Tuesday, Captain Olusegun Abidoye, the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for the Brigade, labeled the initial report as “baseless,” “unfounded,” and a malicious attempt to tarnish the image of the military.

Commanders Alibi and Sequence of Events

The statement provided a point-by-point account of the incident in Lamurde Local Government Area, asserting that the Brigade Commander was not at the scene. He was reportedly participating in a virtual operational briefing with the Chief of Army Staff at the time of the alleged shooting.

According to the military, the crisis began in the early hours of Monday, December 8, following a distress call about a clash between the Bachama and Chobo communities over a longstanding land dispute. A joint security team, including troops from the 23 Brigade, police, NSCDC, and DSS, was deployed to several affected villages.

The army narrative states that troops were first attacked by an armed militia suspected to be from the Chobo community, leading to a firefight where three gunmen were “neutralized.” Five other militia corpses were later found.

Roadblock and Discovery of Bodies

A critical moment occurred when troops, responding to a threat against the Lamurde Local Government Secretariat, encountered a roadblock formed by women. The army claims that while armed men (suspected Bachama militia) fired indiscriminately nearby, troops “created a passage” and moved to secure the Secretariat without harming any civilians.

“At this point, no woman was shot or injured. Otherwise, troops would not have been allowed to find any passage through the crowd,” the statement read.

Later, while stationed at the Local Government Lodge, community members presented the corpses of two women to the soldiers, accusing the troops of their deaths.

Army’s Conclusion and Sympathy

The Brigade categorically rejected this accusation. “Without equivocation, the casualties were caused by the unprofessional handling of automatic weapons by the local militias who are not proficiently trained to handle such automatic weapons,” the statement concluded.

Despite denying responsibility, the Brigade expressed deep sympathy for the families of the deceased and called on the warring communities to embrace peace. It reaffirmed its commitment to its constitutional duties in the region.

The public has been urged to disregard the earlier online report.

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