The All Progressives Congress on Monday slammed a former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, for attacking President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The National Vice Chairman of the APC (South East), Dr Ijeoma Arodiogbu, described El-Rufai’s criticism of the President and the NSA during a Monday night interview on Arise TV as pathetic.

El-Rufai, in the interview, criticised the president’s economic reforms, saying the sequencing was wrong.

“I support some of (Tinubu) policies; most of the economic policies are the right orthodox policies, but the sequencing is wrong, and the quality of the people implementing the reforms leaves much to be desired. And I think that some of the reforms are just wrong.

“You don’t address food inflation by destroying domestic agriculture. Food prices may be going down, but farmers are being impoverished because they are being made to compete with subsidised agricultural products from Europe and other countries.

“So, I have issues with many of them, and I’m in touch with many senior officials of the administration, and I give them my opinion privately.”

He accused the President of rejecting him as a ministerial nominee and not the National Assembly, as previously reported.

The ex-governor said the President changed his mind on the cabinet appointment offer after asking him publicly not to be far from him after he concluded his second term in Kaduna State.

He said, “Since I left office and the President begged me publicly to come and serve in his government, I had my plans and told President Tinubu from day one when he asked me to support him, I said would, but I don’t want anything because politics in Nigeria is always about what do I get for giving you support.

“I’m not in politics for that reason. I’m not in politics to get anything. I have a surname, and I’m a self-made man. I’ve made money before coming into public office.

‘’I don’t need anything. After eight years in Kaduna, I was nearly burnt out. I was struggling for eight years, and I wanted to take a break, and I had my private plans.

“The President publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold and through two months of negotiations, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as minister and there were certain conditions I attached to that.’’

“I think along the line, either the President changed his mind or something else. Please don’t believe the story that the National Assembly rejected me. The National Assembly had nothing to do with this, the President didn’t want me in his cabinet, he changed his mind. Whatever it is, I don’t care and I’ve moved on,’’ the APC chieftain stated.

El-Rufai thumbed down Ribadu’s appointment as NSA, saying he was not qualified for the task.

He accused the NSA of leading a plot to tarnish his reputation because of his 2031 Presidential ambition.

El-Rufai alleged that Ribadu is collaborating with Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to destroy his image.

According to him, Ribadu is nursing a presidential ambition in 2031 and he is ready to eliminate every northerner that he thinks is on the radar.

“This project of destroying Nasir el-Rufai is Nuhu Ribadu’s conception. He is the architect and builder of that project. He is the one working with Uba Sani to implement it. So far, it has been frustrating for them.

“Somebody wants to destroy my reputation. Why? Nuhu Ribadu wants to be president in 2031. He has to eliminate every northerner that he thinks is on the radar,” El-Rufai further berated Ribadu.

But reacting to the attack on Tinubu, Arodiogbu described the ex-governor as a grudging man whose selfish expectations were not met by the Tinubu administration.

He stated, “El-Rufai is a grudging man. I think his personal expectations and selfish needs of the government were not met. So, he’s grudging for that.  Nothing less than this is expected. That could also define what he meant by that the party left him. He didn’t leave the party.”

When asked if the APC was worried about losing such a heavyweight politician to the opposition camp, the APC vice chairman said the former governor wouldn’t pose any form of threat to the party.

“It is not a threat at all. I’ll tell you, in the past couple of weeks, almost any politician of note, whether Senators,  House of Reps members, former candidates of Labour Party in House of Reps and Senate, former or current PDP serving lawmakers and other parties have come to the APC.

“So, you can see the optics are very clear. So, if everybody, if every politician of note in the states is defecting to the APC, what do you expect? So, El-Rufai’s support amounts to nothing.

‘’It’s just like seeing the lizard every day on the wall doing press-ups. It doesn’t matter the press-up it does, the biceps can’t grow to that of a crocodile. That is how I see it.’’

Speaking further, the APC chief said El-Rufai was pained because he was losing his loyalists to the APC.

“What is the right thing he was asking the APC to do? Is it for his selfish expectations or needs? I don’t think that the party is missing him so much because we have harvested so many people in Kaduna State. He is only pained because people are leaving him and joining the APC.

“That’s why he could muster up the courage to come and grant what he termed his first interview. He is only yearning for attention after discovering he was lost,” he asserted.

In his interview, the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory hinted at leaving the ruling APC, saying the party had already abandoned him.

The aggrieved politician stated that unless the ruling party retraced its step back to the vision and ideology of the founding founders, he may move to another party that shares the same values as him

He stated, “First of all, I didn’t say I have no intention of leaving the APC. I said that the APC is my party, I found it. Now, I’m not leaving the APC. The APC has left me. We founded that party based on certain values. The party has left. I am stranded. The APC is there. I’m here.

“So, to be very accurate, I’m not leaving the APC. The APC has already left me. Well, I’m not ready to retire from politics. So, sooner or later, I may have to find another platform to pursue those progressive values that I believe in, if I can’t find them in the APC.

“I hope that the APC will meet and correct its journey, and then maybe some of us can look at it again. But for now, there are many of us who cannot recognize the party. It is not what we worked hard to create.”

When asked if he would be supporting the President’s re-election bid in 2027, the Kaduna politician dodged the question, saying he wasn’t even certain if he would still be in the APC by then.

El-Rufai, who has been hobnobbing with various opposition figures, including the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, said he may need to consult again with his people in Kaduna to decide a viable candidate that would represent their interest and has the chances of winning the next presidential election just as they did during the 2023 poll where Tinubu was favoured to dust his opponents.

  When asked if he had plans to defect to the PDP, the former minister dismissed the notion.

 According to him, he did not consider the PDP as a possible destination.

 “It should be clear that the fact that I’m in the APC doesn’t mean that I cannot visit a friend of mine who is in the PDP or SDP. So anytime I visit anyone that is not in APC, they say, ‘Oh, he’s thinking of leaving the party.

 “In fact, about two months ago, one character in Kaduna posted on his Facebook page that I’ve collected a PDP membership card in my ward. It was totally untrue. I don’t know where I will end up if the APC doesn’t come back to where we started.

 “But one thing I can tell you for sure is that PDP is not a party that I will go to, ever. I have thought about that. I’ve decided that long ago, and nothing has changed. In fact, if anything, the PDP has gotten worse; rule out the PDP. Other parties, possibly, if the APC doesn’t sort itself out,” he said.

 El-Rufai also announced that he would not be attending the National Caucus and the National Executive Committee meetings of the APC, which were slated to start on Tuesday (today).

 According to him, he wasn’t served any notice of invitation and would be flying out to Egypt on the same day.

 He said, “Unfortunately, I will not be. I will be on my way back to Cairo where I spend most of my time. I didn’t get adequate notice. The constitution of our party requires 21 days, I think, or 14 days’ notice for this kind of national organ meeting. I don’t think that notice has been given.

 “If it has been, I have not received the invitation two weeks to three weeks ago. So I have my plans, and I’m leaving tomorrow. But many of my friends will attend, so I will not miss anything. I will get to know what was discussed.”

The Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has approved the appointment of Taiwo Fasoranti as Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

The new SSG is the son of the leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, and the former chairman of the Ondo State Health Management Board.

A statement on Monday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said the appointment came as the Governor resumed work in office a few minutes after he was sworn in as the seventh democratically elected Governor of the state.

Adeniyan said Governor Aiyedatiwa also approved the reappointment of Kayode Ajulo as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac as Commissioner for Finance.

According to the CPS, Johnson Alabi has been reappointed as Special Adviser on Power, Seun Osamaye, Women Affairs, Bola Taiwo, Union Matters and Special Duties, and Simidele Odimayo, Health.

“Also, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Infrastructure, Lands and Housing, Engr. Abiola Olawoye has been elevated to the position of Special Adviser, Infrastructure, Lands and Housing.

“Until his appointment as SSG, Dr Fasoranti, who hails from the Akure South local government area, was the Chairman of the Ondo State Hospitals Management Board.

“All the appointments take immediate effect.

“Governor Aiyedatiwa urged the new appointees to hit the ground running in providing effective and efficient services to the people of Ondo State,” Adeniyan said.

The Abia State Government has announced that out of the 29,797 applications received in the ongoing online teachers’ recruitment exercise, 9,371 applicants have been shortlisted.

The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the Government House on the outcome of this week’s Executive Council meeting, chaired by Governor Alex Otti. He stated that the shortlisted applicants would undergo a computer-based test as earlier announced.

“Those who pass the exams will be invited for an oral interview, after which the successful candidates will be hired. The recruitment process has been designed to be transparent and merit-based,” Kanu assured.

Prince Kanu also announced that Governor Otti has approved the upgrading of Umunnato General Hospital to a specialist hospital after undergoing retrofitting and re-equipping. This brings the number of specialist hospitals in the state to three.

“After this upgrade, which will include renovations and retrofitting, the facility will now be referred to as Abia Specialist Hospital, Umunnato. This ensures that each of the three senatorial zones in the state has a specialist hospital, aligning with the administration’s strategic infrastructural development agenda,” Kanu explained.

The commissioner further noted that the ongoing retrofitting of 200 primary health centres under the state’s “Project Ekwueme” initiative has reached 55 per cent completion, with about 10 centres ready for commissioning.

Additionally, he announced that work has commenced in most of the 67 primary health centres across the state under the World Bank Impact Project. He clarified that the World Bank initiative is distinct from “Project Ekwueme,” which aims to impact all 184 wards in Abia State.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) says Zuriel Oduwole, a 22-year-old Nigerian, has been nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

In a statement issued on Monday, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, NIDCOM’s spokesperson, said three personalities nominated Oduwole, an education advocate, including a professor of clinical education engineering on behalf of the University of Southern California, an emeritus professor of social science for the University of Missouri, and a Nigerian senator.

Odowole is said to have played an active role in global diplomacy, shaping conversations on education and peace, while striving to create opportunities for marginalised communities and drive meaningful change.

Born in Los Angeles to Nigerian grandparents, Oduwole has met with 36 world leaders, including presidents and prime ministers, to discuss policy and development issues.

At the age of 13, Oduwole mediated a territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela, meeting with then-President David Granger at the United Nations, and stressed the importance of peaceful dialogue.

In 2020, she advised Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on global peace strategies amid the Arab blockade of Qatar, which was peacefully resolved in 2021.

In 2017, at just 14, she met with John Kerry, then-US secretary of state, to push for reward-based education programmes in developing nations.

In 2022, Oduwole received the 8th UN secretary-general leadership award in New York, in recognition of her decade-long mediation efforts and advocacy for gender parity.

Balogun said Abike Dabiri-Erewa, NIDCOM chairperson, congratulated Oduwole for the nomination.

Dabiri-Erewa said the nomination was not a surprise due to the tireless work of Oduwole in advocating for girls’ education over the last 12 years across Africa and the Caribbean and for her peace mediating work between nations in South America and the Middle East.

Dabiri-Erewa urged youths to emulate the impactful spirit of Oduwole and shun any acts capable of denigrating the image of Nigeria.

“It is the culmination of a dedication to making a measurable difference in the world that has seen her receive, among others, a Forbes Leadership Award, the CARE Global Impact Award, and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Award,” the statement reads.

“Her recognition and nomination for arguably the most prestigious award known to man is another evidence of that resilient and hardworking Nigerian spirit, warmly coded in Nigerians DNA, and simply waiting for the slightest opportunity to not just express the innate abilities, but to lead and dominate wherever Nigerians find themselves across the globe.”

Michael Oduwole, her grandfather, left Nigeria in 1954 for Scotland to train as a medical doctor, where her father, Ademola Oduwole, was born.

Ademola then emigrated to Los Angeles in 1991, where Zuriel was born in 2002.

MultiChoice Nigeria has announced an increase in the cost of subscriptions for its DStv and GOtv packages.

The increase comes nearly one year after MultiChoice hiked its subscription rates.

In an email to customers seen by TheCable on Monday, the pay-TV firm said the new rates would take effect from March 1.

MultiChoice said its rationale behind the price increase is due to the rise in the cost of business operations.

“Due to prevalent economic factors leading to increased operational costs, we have unavoidably had to adjust the prices of our DStv and GOtv subscription packages,” MultiChoice said.

“We understand the impact this change may have on our valued partners, and we have only taken this step after careful consideration and in-depth analysis.

“It has always been our mission to offer the best entertainment to our esteemed customers and we are committed to continue delivering high quality content and unparalleled service to our viewers across Nigeria.”

According to the pay-TV firm, from March 1, customers on the DStv premium bouquet will no longer pay N37,000 but N44,500 and those on Compact+ would pay N30,000 – up from N25,000.

Customers on Compact bouquet will pay N19,000 — up from N17,000.

To subscribe to Confam, Yanga, and Padi packages, customers will pay N11,000, N6,000, and N4,000 – up from N9,300, N5,100, and N3,600 respectively

MultiChoice also said GOtv Supa+ subscribers will pay N16,800 as against the old price of N15,700.

Similarly, subscribers on the GOtv Supa package are expected to pay N11,400 contrast to the N9,600; while customers on the GOtv Max bouquet will pay N8,500 instead of N7,200.

The company added that GOtv Jolli package will now cost N5,800 and no longer N4,850.

MultiChoice said the price of the GOtv Jinja and Smallie packages would rise from N3,300 and N1,575 to N3,900 and N1,900, respectively.

Nuhu Ribadu wants to be president in 2031

Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna, says Nigerians should not believe the narrative that the national assembly rejected him as a ministerial nominee.

Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Monday, el-Rufai said President Bola Tinubu did not want him in his cabinet.

The former Kaduna governor said the president begged him publicly for him to suspend his plans for ministerial appointment.

“The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and through two months of negotiation, we finally agreed that he will nominate me as minister,” he said.

“There were certain conditions I attached to that. I think along the line either the president changed his mind or something else.

“Please don’t believe the story that the national assembly rejected me. The president did not want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind.”

In July 2024, Tinubu sent the list of ministerial nominees, including el-Rufai, to the senate for screening and confirmation.

In August 2024, the senate withheld the nomination of el-Rufai, Stella Okotete (Delta), and Danladi Abubakar (Taraba), citing security clearance.

The development was interpreted by political analysts as a move to whittle down the influence of the former Kaduna governor in the presidency.

Reacting to the senate’s refusal to screen him, el-Rufai said Tinubu changed his mind, noting that the security clearance cited by the upper chamber was a smokescreen.

The former Kaduna governor questioned what security concerns could have prevented his confirmation, given that he had spent over two decades in public service.

He added ministerial nominees who are “less qualified” were confirmed by the senate because the president made a call.

El-Rufai said the president publicly pleaded with him to delay his plans for a ministerial appointment to help address the country’s electricity challenge.

“The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and through two months of negotiation, we finally agreed that he will nominate me as minister,” he said.

“There were certain conditions I attached to that. I think along the line either the president changed his mind or something else.

“Please don’t believe the story that the national assembly rejected me. The president did not want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind. “

“What was the security issue? I had been a governor for eight years in one of the most difficult states in the country. I had been a minister twenty years earlier. I have been in public life for the last 25 years.

“Where is the report? What about other ministers who are far less qualified, less experienced with huge controversies around them, but they scaled through because the president made a call?”

‘RIBADU WANTS TO DESTROY MY REPUTATION BECAUSE OF HIS 2031 AMBITION’

El-Rufai also accused Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA), of attempts to destroy his reputation because of his (Ribadu’s) 2031 presidential ambition.

He alleged that Ribadu is collaborating with Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to destroy his image.

“This project of destroy Nasir el-Rufai is Nuhu Ribadu’s conception. He is the architect and builder of that project. He is the one working with Uba Sani to implement it. So far, it has been frustrating for them,” el-Rufai said.

“Somebody wants to destroy my reputation. Why? Nuhu Ribadu wants to be president in 2031. He has to eliminate every northerner that he thinks is on the radar.

“In fact, what they have resorted to doing is to call low level people and some of my officials to say, ‘implicate el-Rufai and your problems will go away’. This is what ICPC has become.

“Uba Sani and Nuhu Ribadu are not my friends. They were my friends at some point but not anymore.”

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, have been sworn in for a fresh four year term.

The Chief Justice of the state, Olusegun Odusola administered the oath to Aiyedatiwa and Adelami amid the presence of the people of the state and dignitaries who witnessed the event.

While taking the oath of office, the number one and number two citizens vowed to uphold the constitution, work within its dictates, and ensure the well-being of the people of the state.

The inauguration marks the takeoff of a new administration in Ondo State.

Present at the oath-taking event were the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Ekiti, Abiodun Oyebanji, Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Youth Development, Ayo Olawande, among others.

Omowunmi, the wife of the late singer Mohbad, has stated that Joseph Aloba, her father-in-law, is fully aware that Liam, her son with Mohbad, is indeed his grandchild.

In an interview snippet with BBC Pidgin that started trending on Monday, Omowunmi asserted that Aloba is “100% sure” of Liam’s paternity.

She added that she agreed to the DNA test to clear the “lies circulating in the media, not to prove anything to her father-in-law”.

Expressing her grief, she shared how much she misses her late husband, especially as their son recently started school—a milestone that deepened her sense of loss.

“I miss my husband with everything. My child started school and they wanted to write his name. And they wrote to Mr and Mrs Aloba. I remember him from every angle of my life. You know I have a child for him,” she said in Pidgin-English,” she said.

“…I want to do the DNA for the media that has been fed with lies, not my father-in-law. Because left to me, he is 101% sure that the child is his (Mohbad) son.”

Last week, Omowunmi also opened up about her love story with Mohbad, revealing that they first connected on the social networking platform 2go when she was just 13 and he was 15.

Mohbad passed away on September 12, 2023, and was buried the next day. However, on September 21, his body was exhumed by the police for an autopsy.

Aloba has insisted that Mohbad will not be reburied until a DNA test confirms Liam’s paternity. However, Mohbad’s mother, Abosede, has accused Aloba of deliberately delaying the test.

Eniola Ojajuni, the abducted national president of the Afenifere Youth Council, has pleaded for financial help to pay the ransom demanded by his kidnappers.

In videos circulating on social media, Ojajuni is seen sitting on the ground while a gunman points an AK-47 rifle at him.

Appearing distressed, Ojajuni appealed to Nigerians, particularly those from the Ilaje area of Ondo state, to contribute towards his release.

Ojajuni said he has been given a 24-hour deadline, warning that his captors have threatened to kill him if the ransom is not paid.

 

“Nigerians, please help me! Your donation, N100,000, N50,000, or N1,000,000, will go a long way to save my life. My name is Prince Eniola Ojajuni. God bless you. Aderohunmu, please help me spread this video,” he said.

His abduction was first announced by Abiodun Aderohunmu, national secretary of the Afenifere Youth Council.

Aderohunmu said Ojajuni was kidnapped on February 17, 2025, in Abuja and sustained a gunshot wound to his buttock.

“The Afenifere National Youths Council is deeply saddened to announce the kidnapping of its National President, Prince Eniola Joseph Ojajuni, in Abuja, Nigeria,” Aderohunmu said.

He added that the kidnappers have demanded N100 million for Ojajuni’s release.