The former Governor of Kaduna State and prominent Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, on Friday publicly admitted to being privy to a successful hacking of the phone of President Bola Tinubu’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. Mallam El-Rufai made this revelation during an interview on Arise Television where he spoke about his recent ordeal in the hands of the DSS and the ICPC. “I want to say very clearly that it wasn’t the EFCC. It’s the DSS. But the DSS were procured to abduct me by the ICPC that has never communicated with…
Author: Michael Chibuzo
By Michael Chibuzo The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday announced February 20, 2027 as the date for the 2027 presidential election while the governorship election will, as usual, hold two weeks later on March 6, 2027. Interestingly, some Muslim voices including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ADC presidential hopeful, have called on INEC to shift the general election from these dates because the dates are going to clash with the month of Ramadan. To be honest, I initially thought these calls were jokes until it dawn on me that they were indeed serious calls for postponement of the…
By Podium Reporters Nigeria’s political space is currently awash with varying shades of outrage by some political players and stakeholders over section 60(3) of the Electoral Amendment bill 2025, initially passed by the Nigerian Senate on February 4th, 2026. The contentious debate centers on one phrase: “mandatory electronic transmission of results in real-time”. In the 2022 Electoral Act, the section that legislates on the transfer of polling unit results is Section 60(5) while in the 2025 Amendment Bill, the equivalent section is 60(3). For clarity, both versions are reproduced here side by side. In the 2022 Act, section 60(5) reads:…
By Michael Chibuzo As the countdown to the January, 2026 effective take off of two landmark Tax Reform laws gathers steam, wrong narratives and misconceptions about aspects of the new tax laws have also been on the increase. While some of the misconceptions are borne out of innocent ignorance, others are mostly from a place of political mischievousness. In this Explainer I will be addressing the misconceptions around the income tax provisions in the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025. Over the past couple of months, I have noticed the following misconceptions and wrong narratives around the issue of income tax,…
A four-time presidential candidate and former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has denied ever promising to step down for younger presidential aspirants in his new political party, the ADC. In a swift press release by the Media Adviser to the 78-year old presidential hopeful, Paul Ibe, the media reports of Atiku’s comment on a BBC Hausa service interview insinuating that he will step down for and support younger aspirants in ADC to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election are false. “It has become necessary to clarify certain misrepresentations arising from the reportage of an interview…
By Michael Chibuzo After a careful analysis of Nigeria’s history with every form of subsidies, I have come to the conclusion that subsidies are counter-productive in Nigeria. Some may disagree with this and it is normal. We all desire subsidies but it seems the Nigerian factor does not mix well with subsidies. Let’s start with subsidies in the PETROLEUM SECTOR. Since the 1970s that petrol subsidy started in Nigeria, our oil and gas industry became highly inefficient and corruption ridden. We wasted trillions of naira spending on consumption. You buy 10 litres of fuel for N1000 for example, government pays…
Former Vice President of Nigeria and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the third time. The former Vice President led the formation of a new opposition coalition whose major aim is to wrestle power from President Bola Tinubu in 2027. The Atiku coalition recently adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their preferred political platform. Atiku’s resignation was communicated in a letter dated Monday, July 14, 2025, addressed to the Chairman of PDP in Jada 1 ward, Jada Local…
Abubakar Malami, SAN was one of the few Ministers that served for 8 years under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. He served as Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and had to swim through many controversial waters. Malami nursed a governorship ambition in his home state of Kebbi but dropped the ambition after he decided not to resign as Minister after President Buhari gave ultimatum for anyone seeking elective post to resign from his cabinet. Abubakar Malami just two years after leaving office as Minister of Justice and AGF under an APC-led federal government resigned…
By Michael Chibuzo The permutations for the 2027 presidential election is now gathering steam, as key pieces such as Knights, rooks and Bishops have began to slide around the 2027 political chessboard plotting how to checkmate the Kings. Talking about Kings, it is obvious that as far as the 2027 political chessboard is concerned, the two opposing Kings are the City Boy President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the perennial presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Others are supporting cast. Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023 emerged as winner of the tight presidential election in spite of all the odds that were stacked…
The Presidency has cautioned a former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido against rewriting history related to the June 12 annulment and events that followed. In a strongly worded statement from the State House signed by the Special Adviser to the President and Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency responded to claims made by Lamido that President Bola Tinubu supported the June 12 annulment by the then military Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. The press statement captioned “SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: PRESIDENT TINUBU’S ROLE IN THE JUNE 12 STRUGGLE” is reproduced below: The attention of the…