Politics
Atiku: “I bear no grudges against PDP Members’ Defectors to APC “
Let me be unequivocal: freedom of association and expression are not optional in a democracy — they are fundamental rights
Atiku Abubakar, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer in the 2023 presidential election wrote today on his official Facebook page :
“I have been overwhelmed with inquiries from concerned Nigerians, all eager to understand my position on the latest political shifts, particularly the defection of some PDP members to the ruling party.
Let me be unequivocal: freedom of association and expression are not optional in a democracy — they are fundamental rights.
Alongside these stand the pillars of a just and functional democratic society: the people, the rule of law, credible elections, and accountability. Undermine any of these, and democracy itself begins to crumble.
As someone who holds fast to these values, I bear no grudges against anyone for exercising their right to political alignment.
Defections, alliances, and realignments are part and parcel of democratic politics.
We’ve seen them before, and we’ll see them again.Some have resorted to insults because I visited former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Let’s not rewrite history: Buhari is not only a former leader but a significant statesman in the Nigerian political landscape.
During the 2013 opposition merger, the leaders of the time consulted widely — including visits to Obasanjo and Babangida.
So why is it now sacrilegious for me and other leaders to visit Buhari in Kaduna? If you truly believe in freedom of association, then you must respect the rights of all political actors to engage, regardless of party lines.
Defections, alliances, and realignments are part and parcel of democratic politics.
When PDP leaders are busy sipping tea and brokering power deals with President Tinubu, it’s called strategic alliance.
But the moment I greet Peter Obi, el-Rufai, or visit Buhari, it becomes a national emergency. Hypocrisy and the politics of selective outrage have never been this fashionable!
Let us be clear: the coming political battle is not APC versus PDP or LP versus APC. It is Nigerians versus an administration that has plunged the nation into untold suffering.
The economy is in freefall. Inflation is choking the masses. Jobs are vanishing.
Youth restiveness is surging to terrifying levels. Nigerians are not just tired — they are angry, and rightfully so.
This moment is about collective survival. The real enemy is not one another — it is the Tinubu administration’s abysmal failure.
We must reject every attempt to distract us with ethnic, regional, or religious sentiments. These are tools of manipulation, designed to divide and conquer, used by those with nothing else to offer.
The Tinubu administration has no achievements to stand on and no credible record to defend. Its only strategy is chaos and division because that’s the last refuge of the incompetent.
And make no mistake— an incompetent captain does not only wreck his ship; he endangers the lives of everyone on board. -AA”
Politics
Timipre Sylva resigns from APC membership
“As a founding member of the APC, and one who joined other well-meaning Nigerians in building the Party with sweat and money, it is deeply saddening to witness how the ideals we espoused have been so thoroughly and unrecognisably thwarted.”
Former governor of Bayelsa State Timipre Sylva on Monday resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) with immediate effect.
Sylva announced his resignation in a letter addressed to the APC chairman in Ward 4, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Sylva, who described himself as a founding member of the APC, said he was saddened by the direction the party had taken.
“As a founding member of the APC, and one who joined other well-meaning Nigerians in building the Party with sweat and money, it is deeply saddening to witness how the ideals we espoused have been so thoroughly and unrecognisably thwarted,” he said.
His resignation comes amid legal and political controversies surrounding him.
In November 2025, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared Sylva wanted over an alleged case involving conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257.
He was also named among suspects in an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration and is listed as one of the defendants in a 13-count charge filed by the federal government over the alleged coup plot.
Sylva, however, said his decision to leave the APC was driven by his opposition to what he described as a political mentality that considers “all is fair in politics”.
Politics
G100 Opposition Summit Proposes Single 4-year Term
The summit was attended by representatives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP), alongside their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
• AI generated: President Bola Tinubu and opposition candidates
The G100 has proposed a Government of National Competence anchored on a single four-year transition term.
The call was made today during the Summit of Nigeria’s Opposition Political Parties held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.
In an opening address delivered on behalf of the G100 by Mallam Salihu Moh. Lukman , he said that the proposed government would be built on competence, integrity, national inclusion and fair representation of every party contributing to the effort, and would be bound to a disciplined, time-bound Four-Year National Reset Programme.
” The Framework before you propose something more demanding than a merger of ambitions: a Government of National Competence, built on competence, integrity, national inclusion, and fair representation of every party that contributes to the effort,” he said.
Lukman emphasised that such a government should be “secured by a political commitment to a single four-year term, written into an enforceable Transition Charter.”
The summit was attended by representatives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP), alongside their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
Politics
Atiku’s campaign promises (2): ” I’ll reopen borders if elected president 2027
Atiku made the pledge while addressing supporters in a video circulating online and shared by ADC chieftain, Dele Momodu, on Friday.
The African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar has said he will reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected president in the next year general election.
Atiku made the pledge while addressing supporters in a video circulating online and shared by ADC chieftain, Dele Momodu, on Friday.
Atiku said that the closure of Nigeria’s borders with neighbouring countries had negatively affected transborder trade and contributed to unemployment among young people.
“The Northern states is bordering Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Benin Republic. And you close all those borders. All our young men who are doing trading between these countries, they carry goods across, they do this and that, all what we call transborder trade is a legitimate business,” Atiku said.
He said many young people who previously operated businesses with capital running into millions of naira had been forced out of business following the border closures.“All the upcoming young men and women who used to have a capital of 10 million, 20 million, and they were employing two, three other people, and then all of them went bankrupt and unemployed. How can there be security?” he asked.
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