1. In Southern Nigeria, the build up to next year’s presidential poll is becoming deeply emotive. Many analysts contend that it may be a continuation of the agitation for zoning and power shift.
Although the rotation concept is not explicitly provided for in the 1999 Constitution, it is a factor in inclusion, erasure of marginalisation and restoration of a sense of belonging. The core element of the cross-regional understanding is that after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari from the North, the South should produce his successor for eight years.
Many political leaders in the South, and the North, believe that the arrangement would continue to foster equity, fairness and national balance. To Ben Ayade, former governor of Cross River State, zoning is a mechanism designed to ensure an egalitarian and equitable power-sharing model in the country rather than regional domination. That was also the reason APC governors from the North supported a Southern presidency ahead of the 2023 primaries.
2. The political ambitions of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Pantami, and former Ogun State governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, remain uncertain following the expiration on Saturday of the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission for addressing complaints over the omission of candidates from its final list for the 2027 elections.
The Peoples Democratic Party and the Nigeria Democratic Congress have complained to INEC about the exclusion of their candidates, but the commission has yet to indicate whether it will revise the list following the parties’ representations.
3. Vice President Kashim Shettima yesterday went down the memory lane, recalling how President Bola Tinubu provided former Vice President Atiku Abubakar political refuge and a platform to contest the 2007 presidential election after he was forced out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Shettima, who spoke at the flag-off of the APC presidential campaign in Kaduna, said Tinubu’s longstanding support for northern presidential candidates demonstrated his commitment to the region and justified the North’s continued support for his re-election in 2027
4. The Niger State Government has commenced preparations for the 2026 Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land, more than a decade after the state suspended general government sponsorship of Christian pilgrimages.
The development follows a directive by Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago for the Niger State Pilgrims’ Welfare Board to intensify preparations for the exercise. The state suspended general sponsorship of pilgrimages to Jerusalem on May 17, 2016, under the administration of former Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, citing economic challenges and insecurity in the Middle East.
5. Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume on Saturday branded any northerner contesting in the 2027 presidential election as an enemy of the region. The African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is the only prominent politician from the north battling to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the next year’s presidential contest.
6. Bandits have killed seven members of a local vigilante group and abducted an unspecified number of residents during an attack on Kaura Namoda town in Zamfara State. It was gathered on Saturday that the attackers reportedly operated for more than three hours after entering the town through a riverine route at about midnight on Friday.
7. Shoprite Nigeria is planning to open standalone neighbourhood stores as part of efforts to revive its operations following financial difficulties that forced the retailer to restructure its business. Adekunle Adebiyi, an investor in Shoprite Nigeria, disclosed this during an interview on Nairametrics’ Drinks and Mics on Friday, where he discussed the supermarket chain’s financial challenges and recovery plans.
8. The Minister of Works, David Umahi has revealed that the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway still lacks a single comprehensive engineering design, more than two years after construction started in March 2024. During an interview, the Minister said the project is being designed and costed in separate sections rather than under one master design.
9. Dauda Kahutu Rarara, the singer was also on hand, doing what he knows best. Vice President Kashim Shettima could not resist some dance steps. That was the scene in Kaduna yesterday as the All Progressives Congress (APC) launched its presidential campaign for next year’s election.
10. Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have neutralised 15 terrorists in a precision air strike north-west of Pulka in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State. The Nigerian Army said the terrorists were neutralised during an operation conducted at about 11:50 pm on October 23, 2026. The Acting Military Information Officer of the Northeast Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Captain Mohammed Goni disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
