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I am not aware of Atiku’s plan to contest 2023 presidency – Wike

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WIKE, ATIKU

 

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has said he is not aware that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar wants to vie for the 2023 presidency.

Wike made the clarification on Friday while speaking as a guest on the Africa Independent Television’s Programme, Focus Nigeria, in Port Harcourt on Friday.

He said he was not aware of Atiku’s move because the PDP has not yet zoned the presidency.

Wike also said the resolution of the internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has allayed his initial fear of possible implosion in the party.

He noted that the convivial manner in which PDP governors and Board of Trustee members resolved the crisis has given Nigerians hope that the party is prepared to takeover the realm of power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023.

The governor explained that it was not uncommon for a political party to experience internal squabble in view of the forthcoming poll and varying interests, but commended PDP governors for coming together to speak with one voice to end the differences.

“I use to be afraid of possibility of an implosion and that could have been the end of the party. But what I saw on Monday gave me a lot of confidence for the first time. I have never seen that happen, the way the governors came together and spoke in a convivial manner with no dissenting view. I was impressed.”

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Wike, who dismissed insinuation that he has personal disagreement with the National Chairman of the PDP, stated that his primary concern had been to salvage the PDP from an impending doom occasioned by an inert leadership.

“Everybody believed that whatever the national chairman was doing was dictated by Wike and must have the backing of Wike. I believe when you support somebody, support him to succeed. But when things are also going wrong, if you don’t speak out, people will believe you are part of it. Therefore, I owe it as a duty to say things are not going right.”

The governor accused some members of the National Working Committee, particularly, the National Organising Secretary, Col. Austin Akobundu of stirring crisis in the party because of his governorship ambition.

He warned that the PDP should be wary of agents of the APC, whose stock in trade is to cause division and destabilise the party. According to him, some of these persons are some former governors and ministers.

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Commenting on the recent court judgement that it is Rivers State government and not Federal Inland Revenue that should collect Value Added Tax and other related taxes in the State, the governor said the State approached the court to seek an end to perceived infraction of its rights and powers.

Wike, who accused the federal government of emasculating states by usurping their constitutional rights and powers, revealed that the Federal Inland Revenue had surreptitiously written to the National Assembly to amend the Constitution and make collection of VAT exclusive to the Federal government.

“The Federal Inland Revenue wrote a letter to the National Assembly to amend the constitution to make VAT to be in the exclusive list. So, we intercepted that letter and brought it to court because they know that under the law, it is not within their powers to collect these taxes. And in order to solve the problem, they wrote a letter to the National Assembly to amend the constitution to make them have the exclusive right. If they were right, they wouldn’t have done that.”

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The governor revealed that he has already sent a bill to the Rivers State Assembly to empower the State government to collect VAT and other related taxes in the State.

He stated that Rivers State felt betrayed by former governor of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha for masterminding a plot to take over some Rivers State oil wells.

The governor described as unfortunate the attempt by the incumbent Imo State government to compromise the National Boundary Commission to cede Rivers State oil wells to Imo State.

“We filed a suit at the Supreme Court in 2020 believing that Imo State government will file their defence, but as I speak to you they have not filed their defence. I have never seen a very corrupt commission like the boundary commission. Unknown to us, instead of the Imo State government to file their defence, they went to the boundary commission, met with them to adjust the boundary, but we got the information.”

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NDLEA arrests two France-bound Nigerians with 200 cocaine wraps

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have arrested two Nigerians based in Europe with ingested 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46Kg while attempting to travel from Abuja to Paris, France.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the suspects, identified as Aliocus Odife and Sam Blackborn, were arrested on Wednesday, October 28, during the outward clearance of an Air France flight, AF 832, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Babafemi said the suspects, who had returned to Nigeria for holidays, were arrested after body scans confirmed that they had ingested illicit substances.

He said Odife, who lives in France and works in a factory, arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday but was arrested while attempting to return to Europe.

Odife was said to have confessed to ingesting 110 wraps of cocaine, which he subsequently excreted under observation. The drugs weighed 1.901kg.

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The statement partly read,  “Two Europe-based Nigerian ‘businessmen’ who flew home on holiday and attempted to return to Paris, France with their bellies loaded with cocaine have been arrested by operatives of the  NDLEA at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

“The duo, Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were intercepted on Wednesday, 28th October 2026, during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 832 from Abuja to Paris. Both men have excreted a total of 200 wraps of the Class A drug weighing 3.460 kilogrammes.

“Odife, who claims to live in France where he works in a factory, had arrived in Nigeria for a short holiday on 21st October.

“He was, however, arrested by NDLEA operatives on his return flight a few days later, when he was subjected to a body scan, which confirmed the presence of foreign objects in his stomach.

“Under interview, he admitted to having ingested 110 pellets of cocaine. He was placed under observation during which he excreted all 110 wraps, which tested positive for cocaine with a total weight of 1.901 kilogrammes.”

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Babafemi added that his co-traveller, Blackborn, also tested positive during a body scan and confessed to swallowing 90 wraps of cocaine.

According to the agency, he excreted all the wraps under observation, with the substances weighing 1.559kg.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway arrested a woman, Aisha Isah, with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition

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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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