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Peter Obi disowns merger talks with PDP, Kwankwaso

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Four days after New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) leader Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso repudiated the proposed opposition alliance talks, his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, has disowned the plan.

Obi, former Anambra State governor, said there is no merger deal yet with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the NNPP or any other party.

He told reporters in Abuja that no agreement had been established with other parties on collaboration ahead of 2027.

However, Obi urged Nigerians to come together in 2027 and defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he accused of mismanaging the country’s resources.

Obi described the security situation as unfortunate, saying that many Nigerians are losing their lives to banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping-for-ransom.

He said corruption and the cost of governance are high, leading to an astronomical increase in public debt under the Tinubu Administration.

Obi alleged that government officials mismanaged public funds in 2024 through incessant foreign travels.

However, the APC rejected the allegations, saying that they were unfounded.

The ruling party said the former LP presidential candidate is still nursing bitterness over his defeat in the 2023 poll.

Obi also said the country’s electoral processes are visibly flawed, lacking transparency and credibility.

He said the electoral processes fell below acceptable standards, adding that people’s votes no longer count.

Obi said the single most challenging test for the President is ensuring that future elections are credible and truly reflect the will of the people.

Obi said: “We hold periodic elections that are no longer genuine. Our electoral processes are visibly flawed, lacking transparency and credibility.

“Although Nigeria is a democratic country, the electoral processes fall far below acceptable standards, with the people’s votes often not counting.”

“All future borrowing must be tied to regenerative investments and visible, productive assets that benefit the nation.

“This will ensure both productivity and the ability to service and amortise such loans, rather than continuing the current practice of accumulating massive debt with no tangible returns, which places undue strain on future development revenue.

“Furthermore, it is time for you to visit our national hospitals. Consider, for example, that your next medical examination be conducted at one of our national hospitals or regional federal medical centres, such as the FMC in Sokoto or Birnin Kebbi or Calabar or Umuahia or Akure, among others.

“This will allow you to assess the state of healthcare facilities available to Nigerians. It will also help you understand the condition of our hospitals and clinics, enabling you to make informed decisions on how to upgrade and make them efficient.

Endeavour to travel by road to observe the condition of most highways.

“You can take short trips, for example, from Calabar in Cross River State to Uyo in Akwa Ibom State – a distance of less than 100 km, or from Benin in Edo State to Warri in Delta State.

“I recall taking President Olusegun Obasanjo on a trip from Awka to Onitsha on a federal highway when I was the governor of Anambra State.

“That journey prompted him to immediately approve the reconstruction of parts of the road by the Anambra State government, with subsequent reimbursement by the Federal Government. Such actions are immensely valuable.

“Make both impromptu and planned visits to our tertiary institutions, where our children and future leaders are being trained. It is essential to familiarise yourself with the available infrastructure, facilities, and amenities.

“These visits will provide valuable insight into whether the resources of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) are being utilised optimally and what is needed to sustain the education system.

“Mr. President, many Nigerians are ‘refugees’ and ‘exiles’ in their own country.

“Visit various IDP camps and assure these Nigerians that they will soon return to their communities and that you are working hard to restore peace and normalcy to the country. Nigeria is not a war-torn nation.

”To motivate the soldiers fighting terror, Obi said: “As Commander-in-Chief, visit our military formations and security agencies, especially during their field operations, and provide them with morale-boosting assurances and support for operational efficiency.

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Insecurity: Nigeria’s Internally Displaced Persons Hit 3.726m

According to the report, Zamfara is hosting 276,887 IDPs in 9 camps as of March 2026, while , Benue State hosts over 500,000 internally displaced persons, making it one of the worst-hit states.

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Data compiled by the International Organisation for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix, showed that there are 3,725,593 internally displaced persons, IDPs, now scattered across about 3,900 camps and settlements nationwide.

According to the report, Zamfara is hosting 276,887 IDPs in 9 camps as of March 2026, while , Benue State hosts over 500,000 internally displaced persons, making it one of the worst-hit states.

In Taraba State, about 90,000 displaced persons are currently sheltered in eight camps located in Peva and Kufai Ahmadu in Chanchanji Ward of Takum LGA.

The report said that the crisis has largely been driven by insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, farmer–herder conflicts in the North-Central, and communal clashes in parts of the South.

It further said that Nigeria’s 3.726 million displaced population is larger than the population of at least 63 countries whose populations are under 3.7 million, according to United Nations population estimates.

Among countries with fewer than 3.7 million people are Uruguay (3.4m), Jamaica (2.8m), Qatar (2.7m), Namibia (2.6m) and Botswana (2.6m).

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Atiku’s Media Aide, Ifeanyi Izeze is Dead

The media office said that further details about Izeze’s burial would be made public by his family.

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Atiku Media Office has announced the death of Ifeanyi Izeze, a member of the media team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

In the statement , Izeze a prominent and pioneer member of the ex-VP’s media team died on Sunday.

“Ifeanyi Izeze joined the media team of the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar in 2006, from Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Ikot-Abasi as the Office Manager.

He brought to bear on the work of the media team at that critical stage of Atiku’s political career, his wealth of experience in the media, Niger Delta and Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Izeze trained as a geologist at the University of Port Harcourt up to postgraduate level, but carved a niche in journalism where he reported and wrote extensively on oil and gas industry in Nigeria for many years in the defunct Sunray, Anchor, and NewAge newspapers among others, before he joined ALSCON.

In the Atiku Media Office, Ifeanyi was a senior member of the team and its pioneer Office Manager who helped shape the campaign policies of the Atiku Presidential Campaigns in the Niger Delta, particularly in the oil and gas sectors,” the statement further reads.

Atiku Media Office described the deceased as a man with a prodigious sense of humour and a born-again Christian of the Christ Embassy.

The media office said that further details about Izeze’s burial would be made public by his family.

He left behind children, grandchildren and an elder and only surviving brother, Pastor Emeka Izeze of the Guardian Newspapers fame

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Tinubu Pledges Support for Nigerian Media in Battle Against Big Tech.

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...Vows Tariff Relief on Newsprint and Equipment. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has thrown the full weight of his administration behind Nigeria’s media industry in its escalating fight against Big Tech’s dominance, unfair content usage, and crippling economic pressures, while promising to slash or eliminate import tariffs on essential production materials.

Speaking at a high-level interfaith dinner held at the State House on Friday, March 13, 2026, the President described the Nigerian press as an “indispensable partner” in the country’s drive for economic recovery, democratic consolidation, and national unity.

“We will help dismantle the fiscal hurdles and digital cannibalisation currently threatening the survival of the press,” Tinubu declared, assuring the delegation that his government is actively reviewing the national tariff exemption list.

Among the items under consideration for zero or reduced duty (currently 5–10%) are newsprint, printing plates, chemicals, and broadcast equipment for radio and television—materials the media sector has long argued should receive the same preferential treatment as educational and research imports.

“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” the President told representatives of the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) and other leading industry bodies.

The closed-door meeting brought together a powerful cross-section of Nigeria’s media leadership, including:

– Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, NPO President and Publisher of The Guardian

– Frank Aigbogun, NPAN Deputy President and Publisher of BusinessDay (who delivered the industry’s joint address)

– Aremo Olusegun Osoba (Vanguard)

– Sam Amuka (THISDAY/ARISE News)

– Prince Nduka Obaigbena (Channels Television)

– Dr John Momoh, Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)

– Leaders of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), among others.

In his presentation, Aigbogun accused unnamed global tech platforms widely understood to include Google and Meta of systematically “scraping” Nigerian journalistic content, frequently breaching paywalls, to train artificial intelligence models without compensation.

He claimed these practices are depriving local media houses of up to 70% of their legitimate advertising and syndication revenue losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars annually while triggering widespread job losses across newsrooms.

Aigbogun called on the President to instruct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to launch a formal investigation, in partnership with media stakeholders, into Big Tech’s alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, told the gathering that preliminary engagements with major tech companies, including Meta and Google, are already in progress.

“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” Idris said firmly.Vice President Kashim Shettima, together with several senior presidential aides, also attended the event.

The State House meeting follows an earlier January 2026 letter and public statement from the NPO highlighting the existential threat posed by unregulated digital platforms to Nigeria’s independent media ecosystem.

Industry observers view the President’s commitments as a potential turning point, offering both short-term cost relief through tariff adjustments and longer-term policy backing in the global push for fair revenue sharing between traditional media and dominant tech intermediaries.

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