Headline

Alleged Injustice: Shekarau Dumps PDP

Published

7 years ago

September 4, 2018

Eric

A new twist has developed in the politics of Kano State as a former governor of the state, Ibrahim Shekarau, has dumped the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

Mr Shekarau’s spokesperson, Ya’u Sule, disclosed the defection in an interview with the BBC Hausa on Tuesday.

Although he did not disclose the new party his principal is moving to, there are already indications Mr Shekarau will return to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party he helped form in the build up to the 2015 election.

Mr Sule said the decision of the former governor is connected with the recent dissolution of party executives in the state.

The National Working Committee of the PDP, last week Thursday, dissolved the Kano State Executive Committee of the party and constituted a caretaker committee to pilot its affairs.

No reason was given for the dissolution, but it is believed to be connected to the recent defection of another ex-Kano governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to the party.

Before Mr Shekarau’s defection, hundreds of Shekarau’s supporters on Monday protested against the decision of party.

The spokesperson explained that, after Mr Shekarau notified the national working committee of the consequences of the decision, nothing was done to amend it. Rather, five of the seven-member caretaker committee were allotted to Mr Kwankwaso.

“This, we viewed as injustice”, the spokesperson explained.

“Kano PDP is not the only state that received APC decampees. In Sokoto State, Governor Tambuwal’s defection doesn’t affect the structure of the party in the state, why Kano? We won’t take that.

“Those executives were legally elected to serve four year tenure, they’re in their second year, scrapping them is illegal,” he said

Mr Yau said Mr Shekarau will consult his supporters while also deciding the political party to join.

Mr Shekarau was a founding member of the APC, but left the party for the PDP after Mr Kwankwaso, then Kano State governor, defected to the APC from the PDP and was given the APC structure in the state.

Kano is the most populous state in Northern Nigeria and the state where President Muhammadu Buhari got his highest votes, (about 1.9 million) in 2015.

Mr Kwankwaso, who declared his intention to slug it out with Mr Buhari at the polls last week at the Chida Hotel, Abuja, has vowed to unseat the incumbent if given the ticket of the major opposition party.

Premium Times

Headline

Defence Gulps Lion Share As Tinubu Presents N58.47trn 2026 Budget to NASS

Published

9 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has presented a budget of N58.47 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year to a joint session of the National Assembly, with capital recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure standing at N15.25 trillion.

Tinubu presented the budget on Friday, pegging the capital expenditure at N26.08 trillion and putting the crude oil benchmark at US$64.85 per barrel.

He said the expected total revenue is N34.33 trillion, projected total expenditure: N58.18 trillion, including N15.52 trillion for debt servicing. The budget is N23.85 trillion, representing 4.28% of GDP.

The budget was anchored on a crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the US Dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.

In terms of sectoral allocation, defence and security took the lion’s share with N 5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure at N3.56 trillion.

Headline

Mike Adenuga, Emmanuel Macron Hold High-Powered Meeting in Paris

Published

2 days ago

December 18, 2025

Eric

Accomplished billionaire businessman and Commander of the French Légion d’Honneur, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., GCON, CdrLH, has held a private meeting with the French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The two powerful citizens of the world held the meeting on Wednesday at the historic Élysée Palace in Paris.

The high-level engagement underscores the longstanding relationship between Dr. Adenuga and the French Republic, as well as his continued relevance in global business and diplomatic circles.

A respected industrialist and philanthropist, Adenuga has been widely acknowledged for his contributions to economic development, telecommunications, energy, and humanitarian causes across Africa and beyond.

The meeting adds to Dr. Adenuga’s growing profile as a bridge between African enterprise and international leadership.

Headline

Free at Last: Burkina Faso Releases 11 Nigerian Soldiers, Aircraft

Published

2 days ago

December 18, 2025

Eric

Burkina Faso has released Nigerian soldiers who were detained after their aircraft made a forced landing in the Sahelian country earlier this month, Nigerian officials said.

The release followed a diplomatic intervention by President Bola Tinubu, who dispatched a high-level delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, to meet Burkina Faso’s Military Leader, Ibrahim Traoré, on Wednesday.

In a statement, Alkasim Abdulkadir, Tuggar’s spokesperson, said both sides resolved the matter amicably and secured the release of the Nigerian Air Force pilots and crew.

The soldiers had been held for nearly two weeks after the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) described the aircraft’s landing as an “unfriendly act” carried out in defiance of international law.

The Nigerian Air Force, however, said the crew encountered a technical issue that required a precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, the nearest available airfield. It said the landing complied with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols.