Professor Itse Sagay has urged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to halt his ongoing political hostilities against Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, warning that the crisis is negatively impacting governance in the state.

Speaking with Saturday Telegraph in a telephone interview, Sagay criticized Wike for attempting to maintain control over the state while serving as a minister.

“Since the young man came to power, Wike has been breathing down on him and has refused to let him work,” Sagay stated. “This is unfortunate because when Wike himself was in power, nobody breathed down his neck the way he is doing to Fubara.”

Naija News reports that the feud between Wike and Fubara has led to a divided House of Assembly, prompting a Supreme Court intervention to restore order.

Following the apex court ruling, Governor Fubara dismissed all local government chairmen and councillors elected in the October elections and has written to the House of Assembly for a meeting to mend political divisions.

However, the lawmakers recently locked the Assembly gates to prevent him from presenting the state 2025 budget.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling favoring Wike’s political faction, Sagay criticized the ongoing power struggle, calling it detrimental to the state’s progress.

Sagay lamented that the crisis has distracted Governor Fubara from governance, preventing him from performing optimally.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that the governor has not been performing optimally because of the distraction this crisis has caused him,” he said. “There is a need for all gladiators to apply the brakes and allow peace to reign in the interest of the people of the state.”

He emphasized that Wike must recognize that he cannot simultaneously be both a minister and the de facto governor of Rivers State.

Addressing concerns about the reported absence of the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, and its impact on a possible impeachment process, Sagay dismissed any legal hurdles.

“Whenever a substantive chief judge of any state is away, the law allows for someone in the system to act in his place,” he explained. “So, if that is the case, the acting chief judge can take up the full responsibilities of the substantive chief judge.”

All Progressives Congress (APC) bigwigs in the North and South are reportedly not happy with President Bola Tinubu, and there are strong indications that some former ministers of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, former Governors and Senators will move en masse to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Naija News reports that the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday, defected to the SDP, citing a growing misalignment between his values and the current direction of the APC as the primary reason for his decision.

El-Rufai, a vocal critic of Tinubu’s administration, disclosed on Wednesday that he sought Buhari’s approval before leaving the APC, and it has opened a floodgate of defections as some other members of the APC in the North, especially those of Congress for Progress Change (CPC) extraction, have also been dumping the party.

Following El-Rufai’s defection, a chieftain of the APC and former member of the House of Representatives from Katsina, Ahmad Kaita, also joined the SDP.

Similarly, former Kaduna State commissioners for Agriculture, Ibrahim Hussaini; Justice, Aisha Dikko; Health, Amina Baloni, and Education, Halima Lawal, as well as former Head of Service, Hajiya Bari’atu Mohammed, also dumped the APC for the SDP.

Also, the Campaign Secretary of the APC in Gombe State during the 2015 general elections, Adamu Modibbo, has left the party and is currently the chairman of the state SDP.

A senator in the ninth Assembly, who spoke to PUNCH on the condition of anonymity, said at least 10 former members of the Buhari cabinet were moving to the SDP.

According to the source, leading Buhari’s loyalists in the defections are the former National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu; ex-Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; and former Senate President, Ahmed Lawan.

The source said, “What they’re waiting for is the finalisation of the party structure in their respective states.” 

Similarly, one of Malami’s closest aides has confirmed his involvement in the coalition move.

The aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “It is not about ousting Tinubu in 2027 but about our conviction that we have better and more credible constitutional alternatives to offer Nigerians in governance, particularly with regard to institutionalising a human-centred approach to governance.

“We collectively abhor the prevailing order in which governance is commercialised to the detriment of Nigerians and their welfare. It seems to be a marriage of tendencies that cut across the existing political parties with high-profile politicians from PDP, defunct CPC, ACN and APC, among others.

“In personality sense, those involved across the geographical zones include serving and former governors and senators, former ministers, and past and present party officials.”

Other Politicians Leaving

A highly credible source has mentioned former governors of Rivers, Imo, Cross Rivers, Sokoto and Osun states, Rotimi Amaechi, Emeka Ihedioha, Liyel Imoke, Aminu Tambuwal and Rauf Aregbesola, respectively, as part of the stakeholders in the coalition movement.

A former Senate President, David Mark; ex-national chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; a former Buhari’s Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, and the senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, among others, were also involved in the coalition.

In an interview with the aforementioned, a chieftain of the APC in Imo State confirmed that the CPC extraction in the party had concluded plans to leave for a coalition.

He said no fewer than 10 ministers and many senators in the ninth National Assembly were leaving the APC.

He said, “That some ministers who served under Buhari are leaving or will leave the APC is confirmed. However, they may not join the SDP, but I know they are part of the coalition movement.

“President Tinubu has mismanaged the success of our party, and it is painful that things are going awry every day. APC bigwigs, both in the North and South, are not happy, and the President doesn’t care. You don’t grow by reducing in size. The APC is reducing in size.

“The CPC bloc of the party has also been leaving. You will agree with me that the CPC is a strong bloc in the APC, and if it is gone, I doubt if the APC will remain the same.”

Nollywood actress Dayo Amusa has finally silenced the swirling rumors about her alleged romance with Fuji music icon King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, better known as K1 De Ultimate (KWAM 1).

Speaking on Oyinmomo TV, she dismissed the rumors, made it clear that what they share is far from romance.

She described their connection as one built on deep respect and unwavering support, a bond that has nothing to do with the assumptions people make when they see a man and a woman close.

Amusa spoke of K1 not just as a friend, but as a father figure, a guiding force, and an unwavering pillar in her life..

The movie star revealed how he became her silent anchor in ways she never saw coming, wiped her tears, and pushed her forward when everything seemed to be working against her especially in her movie career, where his influence and support gave her the strength to rise beyond limitations.

For Amusa, a man like that is a presence to be cherished, no matter how many times the world tries to twist the narrative.

This follows her fiery social media outburst in November 2024, where she fiercely shut down relentless speculations and invasive questions about her newborn’s father.

What began as a wave of congratulatory messages quickly spiraled into a frenzy of gossip, fueled by none other than the notorious blogger Auto Bola. The actress soon found herself at the center of a paternity storm, her joy overshadowed by whispers and relentless online probing.

Auto Bola, with her never-ending videos, refused to back down, hammering Dayo with demands to unveil her child’s father.

In her relentless pursuit of a scandal, she dragged King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, assumed he is Amusa’s baby daddy.

WATCH HER SPEAK IN CLIP BELOW

Nigerian singer Ahmed Ololade, better known as Asake has broken his silence concerning a trending video of a man who claims to be his father.

The man, Fatai Odunsi in a video cried out for financial assistance after suffering from stroke.

He also accused Asake of neglect, noting that the last time he saw him was when the sickness started in March 2022.

While calling on Nigerians to render him financial help for his medical treatment, he said:

“Good day everyone, I’m the one that gave birth to Ahmed Asake the singer.

“The last time I set my eyes on him was March 2022 when my sickness started. If I called Asake, he won’t pick. Please help me, it is your help that I need”.

Taking to social media to address the situation of things, Asake in a video sang his response. The singer who reportedly exited Olamide’s YBNL record label accused his father of trying to manipulate him, despite spending a lot of money. Singing in Yoruba language, Asake said:

“You can’t please everyone, you can’t please the world, anything you are doing just do it for God. My own father wants to cajole me even though I am a big spender who shares a lot of money. If you distract me, I’ll move on. I have struggled for so many years but they want to make life hard & tiring for me.”

Watch Asake speak in the video below:

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a husband and wife, Baba Sule Abubakar Sadiq and Hafsat Kabir Lawal, alongside two others, Abdullahi Bala and Ladani Akindele, before Justice Amina Bello of the Kaduna State High Court for obtaining money by false pretense, money laundering and stealing to the tune of N197,750,000 (One Hundred and Ninety Seven Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira).

They were arraigned on six-count charges on Monday.

According to EFCC, the defendants allegedly colluded among themselves and defrauded their victims through different guises, including impersonating the wife of the Governor of Katsina State, Fatima Dikko Radda.

One of the charges reads: “That you Hafsat Kabir Lawal, Babasule Abubakar Sadiq, Abdullahi Bala, Ladani Akindele Ayodele, sometime in December 2024 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this honorable court with intent to defraud did obtain the sum of N89 million Only from Aminu Usman which money you caused to be paid in to the Taj Bank plc account number 0009914725 belonging to Abdullahi Bala under the false pretense that you had the sum of $53,300 to exchange for the Naira equivalent which pretense you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) of the advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 punishment under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them.

Prosecution counsel, Bright C Ogbonna prayed the court for a trial date and for the defendants to be remanded in a Correctional Facility.

Counsel to the 1st and 2nd defendants, M.S Katu (SAN), counsel to the 3rd defendant, ⁠Jazuli Mustapha and counsel to the 4th defendant, Paul A. Okachi informed the court that they had filed and served their various applications for the bail of their clients and that they were ready to proceed.

Ogbonna vehemently opposed the applications on the grounds that they were not ripe for hearing. In response, all the defense counsel prayed the court to allow for an oral application for bail.

After listening to the submissions and arguments made by both parties, Justice Bello agreed with the prosecution and consequently remanded the defendants in a Correctional Facility and adjourned the matter till March 17 for hearing of bail applications.

Investigations showed that Hafsat contacted the petitioners as one of the wives of the current governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Radda. Using that guise, she allegedly obtained the sum of N89 million and another N108 million from a petitioner claiming to have $118,300 to sell to them.

Further investigations showed that Hafsat’s husband, Sadiq( the second defendant) provided his wife with two sim cards and registered the same with the True Caller as Fatima Dikko Radda. He then allegedly contacted the fourth defendant, Ladani Akindele who was his former colleague at a new generation bank, and asked him to provide him with the contact number of the Chairman of Unity Bank, Hafiz Bashir, through whom he got the contact number of the petitioner who is a bureau de change operator.

Hafsat thereafter contacted the petitioner, Aminu Usman, and collected a total sum of N197,750,000 from him, claiming that she had dollar equivalent of the money ($118,300) to offer him.

EFCC says the money was said to have been deposited into the bank account of the 3rd defendant, Abdullahi Bala, provided by the first defendant, and the money was allegedly distributed among the four defendants and laundered through various means.

US university Johns Hopkins on Thursday announced plans to lay off more than 2,000 of its employees around the globe, noting that the move is coming on the heels of President Donald Trump’s administration’s massive reduction in foreign aid funds.

In a statement made available by the school on Thursday, the leading scientific said, “This is a difficult day for our entire community. The termination of more than $800 million in USAID funding is now forcing us to wind down critical work.”

The university is based in Baltimore, Maryland, the largest city an hour’s drive north of the US capital, but is eliminating at least 1,975 jobs in projects across 44 countries and 247 jobs in the United States.

New US President Donald Trump and his senior advisor, billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, have embarked on a campaign to slash federal spending, targeting in particular support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for foreign aid, research and development.

Johns Hopkins University is one of the institutions hardest hit by these drastic reductions. In early March, its president Ronald Daniels explained in a message to students and professors that federal money accounted for nearly half of the backing it funds received last year.

Referring to a “historical relationship” between the “first American research university” and the government, he warned that students, researchers and professors would see damage to programs designed to improve health, hygiene and medicine across the world.

– Drinking water –

Thursday’s announcement confirmed that the cuts hit the university’s medical school and school of public health as well as Jhpiego, a global non-profit organization founded more than 50 years ago and which works to improve health in countries worldwide.

“Johns Hopkins is immensely proud of the work done by our colleagues in Jhpiego, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the School of Medicine to care for mothers and infants, fight disease, provide clean drinking water, and advance countless other critical, life-saving efforts around the world,” the university said.

The university receives roughly $1 billion annually in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is currently running 600 clinical trials, according to The New York Times, which added that Hopkins is one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging such cuts.

USAID, the largest funding agency for Jhpiego, distributes humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries.

Trump, whose appointees are dismantling the humanitarian agency, signed an executive order in January demanding a freeze on all US foreign aid to allow time to assess expenses. Critics warn that slashing USAID work will endanger millions of lives.