Professor Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has denied being a member of Atiku Abubakar’s policy team for the 2027 presidential election, saying he was not consulted and did not consent. He stressed that he remains committed to Nigeria and its progress, but such commitment does not require partisan alignment, as he has chosen the path of statesmanship, not partisanship. Moghalu was reacting to a statement from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) campaign that listed him as a member of Atiku Abubakar’s policy team. He said he was surprised to see his name in the…
Author: Abiola
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has appointed former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai as Deputy Chairman of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 general elections. El-Rufai, who remains in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), was named alongside other members of the campaign council approved by Atiku. The former governor will serve under Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, who was appointed Chairman of the council, while Senator Augustine Okwudiri Akobundu will serve as Director-General and Campaign Manager. According to the campaign structure, El-Rufai will be responsible for…
The Ogun State Government and DP World, a leading global ports and logistics operator, have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to develop the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone and the Gateway Deep Seaport. The signing ceremony, held in Paris, France, was witnessed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who led the federal government’s commitment to supporting the project. The Ogun State delegation was led by Governor Dapo Abiodun and included the Secretary to the State Government, Tokunbo Talabi, alongside Commissioners of Finance, Works, Industry, Trade and Investment, Transport, and a representative of the host community. Also present were Minister…
Femi Fani-Kayode, Nigeria’s ambassador to South Africa, has vowed to drag Karl Von Batten before the courts, demanding no less than $100 million in damages over what he describes as defamatory claims. Von Batten is a United States-based lobbyist retained by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. Fani-Kayode added that he will not stop at the money. He said he would also press for Von Batten’s extradition from the United States to Nigeria to answer for alleged violations of the country’s cybercrime laws. The ambassador issued the threats in a statement posted on X on Wednesday, responding to a planned $36 million…
A Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has nullified the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary that produced Professor Isa Ali Pantami as its candidate and ordered the party to conduct a fresh governorship primary in Gombe State. The ruling, delivered by Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed, followed a suit filed by Usman Aliyu Garry, who challenged Pantami’s emergence as the PDP governorship candidate. Garry argued that the required primary election was not conducted after the party announced Pantami as its sole candidate on June 26, 2026. The court’s decision effectively nullifies Pantami’s ticket and directs the PDP to organise a…
Nigeria has just made a power play on the global mining stage, and Washington is all in. In a landmark move, Nigeria and the United States have signed a mineral investment agreement designed to crack open Nigeria’s estimated $700 billion solid minerals sector and pull serious American investment into the ground floor of a largely untapped industry. The framework was inked in New York by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, at Nigeria’s Mission House on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. It’s not just a…
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has broken his silence on the apparent quiet from friends and former colleagues as he battles legal and political troubles, stating he bears no resentment toward those who have distanced themselves. In a statement titled “My Relationships and the Aftermath,” dated September 23, 2026, El-Rufai addressed concerns over the silence of individuals he had previously supported. He disclosed that he had stood by people and causes “at considerable personal cost,” guided by his Islamic faith, Arewa upbringing, and conscience not by expectations of praise or reciprocity. “Their reasons are their own, and I do…
A sweeping Premium Times investigation has unearthed a troubling pattern of suspicious financial dealings linking former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his ex-wife, Jennifer Douglas, to corruption allegations across multiple continents. The report, published on 23 September 2026, reveals that a recent International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal ruling in Paris is merely the tip of the iceberg, the fifth in a series of international cases spanning nearly two decades. On 17 September 2026, the ICC tribunal named Atiku in its final award concerning the stalled $5.96 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project. The tribunal found that Leno Adesanya,…
Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso has declared that the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) will reintroduce fuel subsidy if it wins the January 2027 presidential election, calling President Bola Tinubu’s abrupt removal of the subsidy a “mistake” that plunged Nigeria into a “total mess, economically”. Kwankwaso, the NDC’s vice presidential candidate running alongside Peter Obi, made the declaration during an interview with Arise TV, insisting the party would not simply revert to the old regime. “We’re bringing back fuel subsidy in our own way. There are so many ways to do that,” he said, pointing to a model anchored on domestic refining capacity.…
The $200 million settlement in the Mambilla hydropower dispute is at the centre of renewed controversy, with former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami defending the payment as being in Nigeria’s interest while critics frame it as a trick played on then-President Muhammadu Buhari. The ICC tribunal held that the 2020 settlement between Sunrise Power and the Federal Government was a product of corruption from which Malami was to benefit. Malami denies this, insisting he acted in good faith and for the country, not for personal gain. Podium Reporters reported that the dispute centres on Sunrise Power and the federal government over the…