A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Buba Galadima, has said that “34 and a half” governors are backing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid. 

Galadima, while speaking at the inauguration of the national reconciliation committee of the party,  said Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, has not decided who to work with between the ruling party and the opposition coalition.

The NDC chieftain said Mohammed was advised against aligning with a party that has a strong presidential candidate after a meeting with NDC stakeholders.

Galadima also said Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo state, has distanced himself from both Tinubu’s camp and the coalition.

“There are thirty-four and a half governors. The one who is not with him, visibly shown, is Seyi Makinde. The half is Bala Mohammed,” Galadima said.

“Mohammed is half, because Bala Mohammed met with us after the wee hours of the night, 3:00 a.m. We parted; we were both at the NDC together. Just for him in the morning to call that he has rescinded his decision, that he was advised not to go into any party with a strong presidential candidate,” Galadima said.

“So, it means Bala Mohammed is on the fence. He may work with us; he may work with them. That’s why he’s half, as far as I’m concerned.

“So if you are in power, you have the authority to say, look, we are only fielding this man; all of you step down. Or they can compensate you. We have nothing to compensate anybody, except we reason, except patriotism, that we need to salvage this country.”

1. Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has defended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying the anti-graft agency acted within its legal powers by freezing the Osun State Government’s account.

Falana, who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said the commission did not act unlawfully, stressing that the President himself acknowledged the legality of the EFCC’s action while expressing concerns only about its timing.

“As far as the law is concerned, the EFCC has not acted illegally. As a matter of fact, that came out in the statement of the President, that whereas, ‘I’m not questioning your mandate and the exercise of your powers; however, I’m embarrassed,’” Falana said

2. Former Nigerian police chiefs have raised concerns about the country’s proposed state police framework and submitted recommendations to strengthen the model before it is finalised, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, has revealed.
Mr Disu stated this while delivering his opening remarks at a workshop organised by the National Institute of Police Studies in Abuja on Thursday. In his remarks, livestreamed by the police spokesperson for new media, Ali Giwa, the IGP said the retired police chiefs had reviewed the draft framework and offered inputs that would be incorporated into the final document

3. Thailand has been plunged into mourning after a 14-year-old student carried out the country’s deadliest school shooting in years, killing seven people, including five school staff members, before taking his own life in a shocking rampage that has reignited debate over gun control and mental health. The attack unfolded on Friday morning in Nonthaburi province, northwest of Bangkok, where the teenager first allegedly shot and killed his grandparents at their home before heading to Debsirin Nonthaburi School armed with a handgun legally registered to his grandfather. Once on campus, he opened fire, sending students and teachers scrambling for cover as classrooms descended into chaos

4. A Magistrates’ Court sitting in Kano on Friday ordered the remand of a 25-year-old woman, Maimuna Idris, in a correctional centre for allegedly cutting off her boyfriend’s manhood. According to a report by the  News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the victim was identified as Ashiru Sani. Idris, who resides in Maigatari Local Government Area of Jigawa, is facing a two-count charge of attempted culpable homicide and causing grievous hurt

5. The South African Consul-General to Nigeria, Prof. Bobby Moroe, has explained why Afrobeats star Ayra Starr was initially denied a South African visa, saying she failed to submit the correct yellow fever certificate. Moroe said the incident occurred in February 2024 and not recently as portrayed in some reports, insisting the singer’s visa application was rejected solely because it did not meet the country’s immigration requirements

6. X has announced plans to discontinue its Revenue Sharing programme and introduce a new Original Content Rewards programme to reward creators for producing original content on the platform. The social media company announced the changes on Friday in a post on its X Creators handle, saying the new programme would reward creators who contribute original content.

7. Some of the rescued victims of the February 3 terrorist attack on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State have revealed that at least 13 captives died during the nearly six months in captivity, while 12 children were still being held by the terrorists.

8. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested an Edo-based self-acclaimed spiritualist, Odigie Moses, for allegedly blackmailing a woman into sending him money by threatening to release her nude video. According to a statement shared by the EFCC on its X account on Friday, Moses allegedly demanded $1,100 (N1.5m) before he was arrested in Ekpoma, Edo State.

9. The Children, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Court sitting at the High Court of Awka, Anambra State, has convicted and sentenced a 27-year-old final-year Mass Communication student, Wisdom Edem, to 25 years, five years and five years imprisonment, respectively for rape, sexual abuse and inflicting injury on a 10-year-old girl. In the Charge No. A/3C/2024, obtained by our correspondent in Awka, on Friday, the court was presided over by Justice Peace Otti, on Wednesday.

10. Lagos State Government has arrested 27 suspected hoodlums for allegedly vandalising a newly constructed bridge linking Festac Town to Alakija during a midnight enforcement operation. The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, saying the arrests followed the discovery of what he described as a “disturbing act of vandalism” beneath the bridge.

The house of representatives ad hoc committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has revealed that several senior government officials were listed as members of the council’s governing board.

Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed this during the panel’s investigative hearing on Thursday when lawmakers grilled Shehu Mohammed, chief executive officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), for approving seven vehicle number plates for the PFIPC despite apparent irregularities in the council’s application documents.

Gagdi said those listed as members of the PFIPC’s governing board included President Bola Tinubu; George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation; Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); head of the civil service of the federation; governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); attorney-general of the federation; and ministers of finance, aviation, agriculture and food security, interior, budget and national planning, marine and blue economy, police affairs, transport, works, and power.

He said the FRSC failed to question a document that allegedly named Tinubu and cabinet members as board members.

He also noted that the purported mandate submitted by the organisation to the FRSC lacked official government security features, yet was accepted as part of the verification process.

“We are trying to expose the leakages so that agencies can close these gaps going forward. It is not to indict anybody,” Gagdi said.

Gagdi said the board’s unusual composition and the nature of the documents should have prompted the FRSC to seek independent verification from the presidency and other relevant government institutions before granting the PFIPC’s request.

Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)
Shehu Mohammed, told the committee that the FRSC complied with its standard operating procedures throughout the application process.

The corps marshal explained that the FRSC received the council’s application on April 4, 2025, followed by a reminder dated April 11, both signed by Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi.

He said the application was accompanied by documents purporting to establish the council, detailing its mandate, governing structure and the vehicles for which official number plates were requested.

Mohammed said officials also examined the organisation’s website, which bore a federal government domain, and visited the council’s office at the federal secretariat complex in Abuja.

The corps marshal said both the website and the physical office gave the impression that the council was a legitimate government agency.

Mohammed added that officials also verified the vehicles’ chassis numbers before approving the allocation of the number plates.

He said the FRSC was surprised when it later emerged that the PFIPC was not an authorised federal government agency.

Mohammed added that the FRSC has commenced the retrieval of all official number plates issued to the organisation and has strengthened its verification procedures to prevent a recurrence.