PUBLISHER and Broadcaster,Prince Nduka Obaigbena, has urged 2027 presidential candidates to shun smear campaigns and focus on policy issues.

Obaigbena made the call, yesterday, during a panel discussion at the centenary celebration of the Daily Times of Nigeria held at the THISDAY DOME in Abuja.

The event, themed: “Honouring the Past, Shaping the Future,” also featured the unveiling of the Nigerian Grand Book and the recognition of Nigerians, who have contributed significantly to the development of the country.

The media mogul participated in the session with a former Managing Director of the Daily Times, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, and business executive, Mustafa Chike-Obi.

Speaking on the 2027 elections, Obaigbena enjoined the presidential candidates and other political leaders to engage Nigerians in substantive debates on policies, rather than spend time on frivolities.

He said: “I believe I should implore our leaders to fight the election on policies. Should we have subsidy or should we not? Let us debate it.

“Should we go back to the command-and-control exchange rates, or should we allow the markets? Should we have tax reforms such that we can equaliser the gaps between the rich and the poor?

“How do we deal with insecurity? Is state police an answer? What does Abubakar Atiku think? What does Peter Obi think? Let us debate our future on policies.”

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”.

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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.