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Nigerians knock Presidency, Mbaka over contract demand allegations

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Buhari, Mbaka

 

The Presidency and the Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka, on Saturday came under verbal attacks from many Nigerians over claims by the Aso Rock Villa that the clergy was angry with President Muhammadu Buhari over a failed contract bid.

Mbaka, an ardent supporter of Buhari until recently, had told worshippers in Enugu on Wednesday that the President has failed the nation and ought to resign.

He said the President should be impeached should he refuse to quit.

The call did not go down well with the President which accused Mbaka of blackmail.

A video recording of the clergy blasting Buhari for being stingy in 2018 went viral on Saturday.

Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the clergy was angry with the President for allegedly refusing to circumvent contract award procedures for him.

Mbaka, according to the President’s spokesman, had requested audience with the President, but to the chagrin of presidential aides, he came with three contractors, demanding that he be compensated for his support with contracts to his friends.

The President was said to have asked the appropriate authorities to attend to the demand in accordance with laid down procedure; a response which allegedly did not settle well with the clergyman.

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Following the exchanges between the two groups, many Nigerians have taken to the social media to express their views on the allegation.

Former Kaduna State senator, Shehu Sani, said: “Our Revered Father Mbaka crossed the Red Sea to Yemen and realised it was not the Promised Land.”

Ex-Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose said: “The Presidency and Father Mbaka are nothing but blackmailers and scammers. They don’t deserve the attention of Nigerians.”

Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesman, Reno Omokri, said: “So, according to the @NGRPresident, Reverend Father Mbaka went to see General @MBuhari with 3 contractors, and requested for contracts as compensation for supporting Buhari. The President recorded that meeting. My question to Mbaka: Is it true? Are you so cheap?”

Demola Olanrewaju said: “A part of me wants to argue that Mbaka as a political contractor wanting contracts in exchange for the political support he moved for Buhari in the SE is not bad, since Sheikhs and Imams also likely get some. But the ‘South’ is very objective on stuff like this.”

Henry Shield said: “So because Mbaka allegedly asked for contracts, it is okay for terrorists to keep killing us? Please make me understand Garba’s message.”

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The Secretary General of Ohanaeze Youths, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said Mbaka “is a victim of use and dump.”

The Ohanaeze scribe, who blamed Mbaka for delving into politics in the first place, urged him to “go home and sin no more.”

“What is happening recently between Fr. Mbaka and the Presidency is quite a sad one. We see it as a relationship gone sour.

“We remember how they both enjoyed a robust relationship, with Fr. Mbaka campaigning vigorously for Buhari both during his first and second tenures.

“But now that the marriage has collapsed, the hell appears to have been let loose, with the presidency trying hard to mess Mbaka up. “

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) accused Garba Shehu of cheapening and rubbishing the dignity of the office of the President by converting it to a centre for political blackmail and religious bigotry.

HURIWA said the statement against Mbaka has “totally eroded the integrity and honour of the office of the President and may need a wide range of political exorcism to restore the lost glory, prestige and dignity of that high office.”

The group recalled how the same Buhari eulogised Mbaka when he predicted his victory against the then incumbent President in 2015 and repeated the same in 2019.

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HURIWA said Shehu’s colleague, Femi Adesina, had in 2019 praised Mbaka when President Buhari played host to the Catholic priest even as the President had then described the pre-election exhortation of the priest, when he descended hard on the former president as the best in his life.

HURIWA however described the press statement by Garba Shehu as tissues of lies and fabrication meant to damage the Christian brand.

By some coincidence, a video recording of Mbaka calling Buhari stingy and unwilling to make donations to his church went viral on Twitter on Saturday.

The video posted by @RBiakpara shows Mbaka accusing Buhari of failing to make donations to his church despite the church supporting his ambition in 2015.

He is heard saying: “If you know what this ministry is passing through because we are supporting Buhari. And the attackers are waiting for me to say I am supporting Buhari again and the attack will start and Buhari will remain in Aso Rock, being somebody who cannot give money?

“What does that mean? All the people being given allocation, what qualification do they have that we don’t have?”

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Relief as suspected Ebola cases in Adamawa tested negative

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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that there are currently no laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola  in Adamawa.

The NCDC had on Saturday said that there were two suspected cases of Ebola in the north-east state, adding that the individuals had been isolated while contact identification was ongoing.

But in a statement on Sunday, the director-general of NCDC, Jide Idris,
said samples collected from the two individuals, who had symptoms suggestive of Ebola, tested negative after two rounds of testing.

“The report was received by the Adamawa State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) in the early hours of 30 October 2026, following the identification of two individuals presenting with symptoms suggestive of Ebola, requiring further investigation,” the statement reads.

“Hence the alert that was released early this evening. The individuals have been isolated, and appropriate public health measures have been initiated.

“Samples were collected for laboratory testing to establish the cause of the illness. Fortunately, the samples turned out negative for EBV after two rounds of testing.”

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Idris commended the Adamawa health commissioner and his team for their “proactive approach”, adding that the NCDC was working closely with the state government to investigate the report of suspected Ebola cases.

“Currently, there is no laboratory-confirmed Ebola case in Adamawa state,” he said.

“The index case previously confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory remains the only confirmed case reported in Nigeria to date.”

He urged the public to remain calm and avoid sharing unverified information or speculating about the situation.

“The public is encouraged to obtain information from official government and public health communication channels,” he said.

Idris described Ebola as a serious infectious disease that requires prompt identification, appropriate clinical management and effective infection prevention and control measures.

“Anyone experiencing symptoms such as fever, severe weakness, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding, particularly following relevant exposure, should seek immediate medical attention and inform healthcare workers of any relevant travel or contact history,” he said.

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“Individuals should avoid self-medication and follow the advice of healthcare professionals.”

Nigeriaconfirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20, after a 42-year-old Swiss woman tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja.

The patient, who had travelled from Uganda to Nigeria, was subsequently isolated and treated by Nigerian health workers.

On Monday, the federal governmentevacuated the patient to Switzerland aboard a medical plane.

Her husband, who was identified as a close contact, was also evacuated to Switzerland.

Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said the patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious and communicating, with her laboratory test results approaching baseline levels.

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Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: 2027: S’West ADC leaders revolt against Atiku

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1. Many leaders of the African Democratic Congress in the South-West have expressed dissatisfaction with what they described as the marginalisation of the party’s structure in the region by the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The ADC leaders, including some state chairmen and governorship candidates, alleged that Atiku had been conducting his political activities in the region through his friends and allies, while leaving the party structure sidelined as presidential campaign activities prepared to gather momentum.

2. A United States federal court has rejected an attempt to obtain discovery from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and DCI Group in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

3. The Zamfara State Commissioner of Police, CP Muhammad Bello, has confirmed the “rescue of three of the six Islamic clerics kidnapped on September 12 while travelling to Talata Mafara, Zamfara State.” Bello gave the confirmation in an interview with select reporters in Gusau. He said the rescue followed a multi-agency collaboration and seamless synergy between the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, the Department of State Services, DSS, and police operatives.

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4. The Grand Patron of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, have set a target of at least 1.5 million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. According to a statement, the target was announced on Saturday in Osogbo during the inauguration of the movement’s state and local government structures.

5. Nigerians lose no less than N75bn annually to visa application expenses across foreign missions, with rejected Schengen visa applications alone accounting for an estimated €11.5m, equivalent to about N19bn in 2025.
This is according to a visa-cost analysis report obtained by Sunday PUNCH from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

6. With one accord, the governors of Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, and Anambra States yesterday urged the people of the Southeast to avoid political distractions, and vote massively for President Bola Tinubu in next year’s presidential election. Governors Peter Mbah, Hope Uzodimma, Francis Nwifuru and Charles Soludo, said it was necessary for the zone to support Tinubu’s re-election bid to enable him consolidate the gains of his administration’s economic reforms

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7. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has said Nigeria’s security challenges predate the administration of President Bola Tinubu, noting that terrorism, insurgency and banditry had been entrenched in the country before 2023 when Tinubu assumed office. He said the country’s security problems were rooted in years of porous borders, illegal arms proliferation, youth unemployment and the spread of extremist ideologies.

8. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike has directed supporters of President Bola Tinubu to deliver their polling unit in the forthcoming 2027 general elections. Addressing the supporters, Wike framed the upcoming general elections as a critical opportunity for residents of the nation’s capital to rectify past electoral missteps and unite under a strategic development banner.

9. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has removed the name of the Kano State governorship candidate of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, from its updated list of candidates for the 2027 general elections. A check on the commission’s website shows that the names of Gwarzo and his deputy were conspicuously missing from the updated list.

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10. Four young men have been arrested by the Bauchi State Police Command for allegedly abducting and gang-raping a 12-year-old girl in Sakwa District, Zaki Local Government Area of the state. The suspects were arrested following a complaint by the victim’s 50-year-old father, who reported the incident at the Sakwa Divisional Police Headquarters on Thursday.

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Wale Tinubu, Rabiu, others Join President Tinubu in Makkah for Umrah

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The Group Chief Executive Oando Plc, Jubril Adewale Tinubu; Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, and several other Nigerian business mogul have joined President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, for the performance of Umrah, the lesser Islamic pilgrimage.

The presence of the prominent Nigerian business leaders alongside the President in the holy city has drawn attention, bringing together three influential figures from Nigeria’s political and business communities in a moment of religious observance.

Tinubu and Rabiu, both prominent names in Nigeria’s corporate landscape, were seen alongside the President dressed in the traditional white Ihram garments worn by Muslim pilgrims performing Umrah.

Umrah, unlike the obligatory Hajj pilgrimage, can be undertaken at any time of the year. It involves a series of religious rites in Makkah and holds profound spiritual significance for Muslims across the world.

For the Nigerian business community, the appearance of the corporate leaders alongside the President also offers a glimpse into the intersection of faith, business and public life, particularly when influential figures come together outside the usual settings of boardrooms, corporate engagements and official functions.

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The development comes as President Tinubu undertook the pilgrimage to seek divine guidance and offer prayers for Nigeria’s peace, unity, stability and progress.

According to the Presidency, the President performed the Umrah rites early Friday, October 30, at the Grand Mosque, Masjid al-Haram, where he circumambulated the Holy Ka’abah.

Speaking after completing the spiritual exercise, Tinubu described the pilgrimage as significant, linking it to his commitment to Nigeria and its people. He also expressed gratitude to Allah for the opportunity to pray for the country.

The President’s prayers reportedly centre on national harmony, security, economic prosperity and the need for Nigerians to live together peacefully.

Rabiu also used the occasion to express his hopes for the country, describing it as an honour to accompany the President on the spiritual journey. He prayed for lasting peace, unity and prosperity in Nigeria.

For Tinubu, whose Oando Group occupies a prominent position in Nigeria’s energy industry, the journey offered a departure from the familiar world of corporate leadership and business engagements. Rabiu, similarly, is a major player in the country’s industrial sector, with interests spanning manufacturing, cement and food production.

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Their appearance in Makkah alongside the President underscores the presence of leading figures from Nigeria’s private sector at an important spiritual moment for the country’s leader.

Umrah, often described as the lesser pilgrimage, is a significant act of worship in Islam. Unlike Hajj, which takes place during a specific period in the Islamic calendar, Umrah can be performed throughout the year.

President Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing his spiritual engagements in Saudi Arabia.

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