@atiku A seat was reportedly secured for Bola near United States President Donald Trump at the world’s most important annual diplomatic gathering. Yet, for the third consecutive year, Tinubu refused to occupy it. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded a full explanation from President Tinubu over his repeated absence from the United Nations General Assembly, asking whether the President’s documented history with United States law-enforcement agencies has become a burden on Nigeria’s foreign relations. In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Tinubu stayed away from the 79th UNGA session in 2024, the 80th in 2025 and now the 81st in 2026, repeatedly sending Vice President Kashim Shettima to stand in for him. He said three consecutive absences could no longer be dismissed as coincidence or routine delegation but constituted a pattern of presidential evasion requiring an honest explanation....

The Presidency has now confirmed that Vice President Kashim Shettima will represent Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Meanwhile, President Tinubu is in Paris wining and dining with Macron. That makes it three consecutive UNGA sessions — 2024, 2025 and now 2026 — at which President Bola Tinubu will not personally lead Nigeria's delegation. Tinubu has attended UNGA only once since becoming President on 29 May 2023: the 78th Session in September 2023. Indeed, it is a constitutional responsibility for him to represent Nigeria at the UNGA. But why is the President of Africa's most populous country repeatedly absent from one of the world's most important annual gatherings of heads of state and government? What is he running away from? And the questions become more compelling because Nigerians had earlier been told that President Tinubu was expected to attend this year's UNGA and address the General Assembly on 23 September. It...

The Northern Youths Assembly has rejected a reported 2027 political alliance between Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Peter Obi, calling it a “betrayal of northern political values and interests.” The group said the deal abandons the “principles of northern development, dignity and cultural identity” that built the Kwankwasiyya Movement.  In a Friday statement, Secretary-General Hafiz Garba accused Kwankwaso of silence after “remarks considered disrespectful” by Obidient supporters toward northern icons like Sir Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa, and Dan Fodio. “The North deserves a clear explanation… A leader who built his career on northern pride cannot remain silent,” the Assembly said.  The group warned the coalition looks “driven by political ambition rather than northern interests” and could weaken Kwankwaso’s base. It urged northern voters to scrutinize 2027 alignments, insisting leaders must not let “personal ambition override the values and aspirations of the people the...

Image 1 caption: is the renewed hope really delivering positive impact? ___   APC NEEDS SUPERIOR STRATEGY TO RETURN TO POWER IN 2027 By  Umar Ardo, Ph.D That the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may face a serious threat of electoral defeat in 2027 is no longer a distant speculation; it is an emerging political reality! The fundamental error of the APC’s current strategy is that, instead of it to look at how low its popularity is and work towards beefing it up, it is concentrating on the weakness of the opposition and working fervently to weaken it even further. This is a poor political calculus! In other words, if President Tinubu concentrates in raising his popularity, then automatically he will be weakening the popularity base of the opposition. Conversely, if he focuses on weakening the opposition, as he seems to be doing now, then automatically he will only be weakening his popularity and raising their own. And once the incumbent is unpopular any focu...

When the All Progressives Congress (APC) took power in 2015 under President Muhammadu Buhari, it rode on the wings of a seductive slogan—“CHANGE.” Millions believed. Millions hoped. Millions voted. But from 2015 to 2023, Nigeria endured eight wasted years, marked by unprecedented economic stagnation, inflationary spikes, violent insecurity and institutional decay. By Buhari’s exit, Nigeria was ranked by the World Bank as the world’s poverty capital, with over 89 million people living in extreme poverty. Then came 2023. A controversial election. A divided nation. And the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under a new slogan—“Renewed Hope.” But today, less than two years into Tinubu’s presidency, the evidence is overwhelming: Renewed Hope has become Renewed Hardship. And for the survival of the Nigerian state, Tinubu must not return in 2027. This is not emotion. This is not opposition rhetoric. This is hard data—economic, social, and security evidence that Nigeria canno...

For over a quarter of a century, Nigeria had not seen a master political strategist like Tinubu. He is a damn cool political customer that perfected the art of manipulating political friends and foes alike, using machinations that borders on capitalizing on polical greed, corrupt stance and selfish inclinations of our political elites. Forget the NADECO days and the self imposed exile, or even the brief stint at the National Assembly as Distinguished Senator, he launched the first step of realizing his ambition to rule the country by contesting and winning the Lagos State Governorship in 1999. You must give Tinubu credit for transforming Lagos in his two terms through pragmatic strategy of surrounding himself with some of the best minds and technocrats Lagos can offer at the time. He withstand the high-handedness of Obasanjo as he choked Lagos revenues by freezing it's Local government funds for two years. Tinubu not only launched himself but his human machinery, hoping...