1. President Bola Tinubu has rebuffed lobbying efforts by the leadership of the Senate to secure automatic return tickets for the ruling party’s sitting legislators ahead of the 2027 general elections, instead reaffirming the authority of state governors over the selection of candidates in their respective states, The PUNCH reports.
This was as he formally empowered governors to drive the primaries process after a meeting with the state executives on Thursday evening.
2. Labour Party has ruled out the chances of its former Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, from picking its ticket for the 2027 presidential election. Speaking during an appearance on TV, Nenadi Usman, interim caretaker committee chairperson of the opposition party, declared that it would be too late for Obi, who left the party for the African Democratic Congress, ADC last year, to return.
3. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday sought Senate approval for a $516,333,007 million loan from a Deutsche bank to fund the execution of Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway. In a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary, the President stated that the 1,000km flagship project is designed to link Nigeria’s Northwest to the Southwest.
4. The Department of State Services, DSS, yesterday arraigned former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai at the Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly intercepting National Security Adviser, NSA Nuhu Ribadu’s phone conversations. El-Rufai pleaded not guilty to a five-count amended charge, marked FHC/ABJ/99/2026, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
5. The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has shifted its presidential primary election to Saturday, May 23, 2026. Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Durosinmi Meseko, disclosed this after the 186th meeting of the party’s National Working Committee NWC on Thursday in Abuja.
6. Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State on Thursday had a closed-door meeting with Peter Obi. Speaking after the meeting, Bala said their discussions focused on key national issues, including economic recovery and citizens’ welfare. The governor said he received Obi at the Government House in Bauchi, describing the engagement as timely.
7. The Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Sokoto State Police Command on Thursday foiled a coordinated attack by heavily armed bandits on Illela Village in Achida Town and Kwargaba District, reinforcing ongoing national efforts to curb violent crime. The operation, which underscores the persistent threat of banditry across the country, followed a distress call indicating that armed assailants had simultaneously launched attacks on the affected communities.
8. A group of loyalists of Sen. Gbenga Daniel on Thursday said the recent endorsement of Gov. Dapo Abiodun for Ogun East senatorial seat by some members of All Progressives Congress, APC, lacked adequate consultation and due process within the party structure. They therefore described the endorsement which if allowed to stand would result in the Daniel yielding the APC ticket for Ogun East senatorial district to Abiodun as “kangaroo arrangement”.
9. The All Progressives Congress, APC, says from Saturday, April 25, 2026, forms will be sold to those seeking the party’s tickets to contest elective positions in 2027. Addressing journalists after the 186th meeting of the National Working Committee, NWC, the Party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Durosinmi Meseko, said this is contained in its revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections.
10. Operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have apprehended a suspected kidnapper and cultist, Ubong Michael, popularly known as “Ubong Boy,” in Ikot Aka Village, Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of the state. A statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, in Uyo on Thursday said the suspect was arrested on Wednesday, with a human skull, a human bone and other items, following credible intelligence.
