Politics
Muslim-Muslim Ticket: Tinubu Blasts Dogara, Babachir

Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described former House Speaker Yakubu Dogara and a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr Babachir Lawal and the group they represent as a band of impostors.
This was as he declared that the former Speaker is no longer a member of the ruling party and so, cannot be said to be speaking for any group of APC members.
Tinubu was reacting to the outcome of a meeting convened by Dogara last the weekend with some Northern Muslim groups wherein the former speaker said they had resolved to work with their Muslim counterparts in the North to adopt one of the opposition presidential candidates in a bid to defeat APC’s same faith ticket.
Director, Media and Publicity of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Bayo Onanuga declared that “Dogara has apparently lost his mind since he could not realise his self-imposed ambition to be on the presidential ticket of All Progressives Congress”.
On account of this, Tinubu said the former Speaker has certainly become a reprobate and demagogue, delivering hate speeches and whipping up emotions, with the aim of setting our country ablaze.
“The Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council is therefore not surprised by media reports about a meeting of some so-called Northern Christian leaders, who claimed to be members of our All Progressives Congress that were championed by Dogara and his ilks. The claim was totally fraudulent.
“Yakubu Dogara, the peripatetic and politically unstable politician who organised the meeting left our party officially and unceremoniously weeks ago. And those who attended the meeting were representing themselves, their selfish agenda, not Northern Christians.
“Before then, the former Speaker had spearheaded a campaign of vitriol and hate against our party, using religion as camouflage, after he lost the vice-presidential candidacy to a better qualified Senator Kashim Shettima”, he added.
Tinubu noted that a careful reading of the people who attended the “unholy meeting” he called also showed that they were all PDP members, masquerading as APC members.
“Among the politicians at the unholy consultative meeting were Mukhar Shagari, Boni Haruna, Abdulfattah Ahmed; Damishi Sango; Senator Idris Ahmed Umar; and two former deputy governors of Kogi State, Yomi Awoniyi and Simon Achuba. They are all PDP members working for the presidential ambition of Atiku Abubakar.
“We were not surprised by the resolutions adopted. Our surprise was that the media failed to read through their smokescreen.
“The APC PCC wondered how the assembly of strange bedfellows hoped to foster unity and cohesion in our country, when their candidate represents the antithesis of the goal, having emerged the greatest divider of our polity, between the north and south.
“All Nigerians are aware that Atiku’s emergence as the PDP presidential candidate grossly violated a power rotation code between the north and the south. His insistence on snatching and retaining what rightly belongs to another political region has triggered a crisis within his party, making him run from Port Harcourt to London to mend fences.
“We want to assure Dogara and his co-travellers fanning hate campaign against our Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, that they will fail spectacularly at the polls.
“From the engagements our leaders have had with men of all faiths, bigotry will not win next February election. What will prevail are the track records of our candidates and the solution-driven and all-inclusive progressive programmes the candidates offer Nigerians.
“Asiwaju Tinubu and Senator Shettima are going into this campaign with clear objectives to engage Nigerians across the socio-economic brackets on policy actions that will make their lives better. Our candidates will not exploit our country’s fault lines to win the election and sell religion as Kool-Aid”, he added.
Politics
Makinde Renames Polytechnic After Late Ex-Gov

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has renamed The Polytechnic, Ibadan as Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan, in honour of a late former governor of the State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo.
Dr Olunloyo, who died on April 6, 2025, was the pioneer Principal of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, while he also served as Governor of Oyo State between October 1 and December 31, 1983.
Governor Makinde made the announcement at the state interdenominational funeral service held yesterday in honour of the late former governor at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Liberty Road, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde said Dr Olunloyo lived an eventful life, adding that his attainment and personality could not be summarised in one sentence.
“He was not a man we could summarise in one sentence. He was a scholar, a statesman, a technocrat, a lover of culture and, above all, a man of deep conviction.
“While giving the exhortation, I was listening to Baba Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu and he said in 1983, Baba became Governor of Oyo State. Though his time in office was brief, his election victory over a popular incumbent remains a powerful testament to the trust people gave him.
“I talked about preserving and digitising his library yesterday [Wednesday] as a mark of honour to Baba Olunloyo.
“Today, we will be giving Baba another honour to immortalise him. He was the first Principal of The Polytechnic, Ibadan; that institution will now be named Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan.”
Earlier in his sermon, a retired Methodist Archbishop of Ilesa and Ibadan, Ayo Ladigbolu, described the late Olunloyo as a role model with intellectual inspiration and unassailable integrity.
The cleric said the deceased also demonstrated leadership in most superior quality during his lifetime.
In attendance were the state Deputy Governor, Chief Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; wife of a former Military Governor of the old Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Dupe Jemibewon; wife of a former Governor of Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Mutiat Ladoja; former Deputy Governor and PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; and former Deputy Governor, Hazeem Gbolarumi.
Others were the member representing Ibadan North-East/South-East Federal Constituency, Hon Abass Adigun Agboworin; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; Oyo State Exco members; Chairman of Oyo State Elders’ Council, Dr Saka Balogun; Chairman of All Local Government Chairmen in Oyo State, Hon Sikiru Sanda; President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Adeniyi Ajewole; religious leaders and family members, among other dignitaries.
Politics
10 NWC Members Oppose Damagum Over National Secretary’s Reinstatement
Ten members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) have countered the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, on the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary.
The dissenting members, led by the Deputy National Chairman ( South), Taofeek Arapaja, in a joint statement, said no organ of the opposition party could overturn the decision of the 99th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The dissenting NWC members include Arapaja; Setonji Koshoedo, Deputy National Secretary; Okechukwu Obiechina-Daniel, National Auditor; Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary; Ologunagba; Woyengikuro Daniel, National Financial Secretary and Ahmed Yayari Mohammed, National Treasurer.
Others are Chief Ali Odefa, National Vice Chairman (South East); Emmanuel Ogidi, Caretaker Committee Chairman (South South); Mrs. Amina Darasimi D. Bryhm, National Woman Leader and Ajisafe Kamoru Toyese, National Vice Chairman (South West).
The group also insisted that contrary to the position of the acting National Chairman, the 100th NEC meeting of the party would be held on June 30 as earlier scheduled.
The statement read: “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a press briefing by the acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, today Wednesday, June 25, wherein he attempted to overturn the resolution of the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which scheduled the 100th NEC meeting for Monday, June 30.
“The acting National Chairman in the said press briefing also reportedly announced that Senator Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to resume as National Secretary of the party contrary to the resolution of the 99th NEC meeting, which referred all matters relating to the office of the National Secretary to the 100th NEC meeting.
“The pronouncements by the acting National Chairman have no foundation as no organ of the party (including the NWC), individual or group has the power to cancel, overrule, veto or vary the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) under the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).
“For the avoidance of doubt, the NEC is the highest decision-making organ of the party, second only to the National Convention. By virtue of Section 31 (3) of the PDP Constitution, the resolution of the NEC to hold its 100th meeting on Monday June 30, is binding on all organs, officers, chapters and members of the party and no organ, group or individual can vary or veto this resolution of NEC.
“Furthermore, the claim by Damagum that Sen Anyanwu has been asked to resume office as the National Secretary of the party is, therefore, misleading being contrary to the resolution of NEC.
“In the light of the foregoing, the 100th NEC meeting as scheduled for Monday, June 30, has not been canceled or postponed.”
Politics
Presidency Slams El-Rufai Over Tinubu Criticism …Says He Suffers From Small Man Syndrome
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has fired back at former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, following the latter’s scathing criticism of President Tinubu’s administration and his 2027 re-election prospects.
In an interview on live television, Mallam El-Rufai said it would take a “miracle” for President Tinubu to be re-elected in 2027, citing an internal poll that purportedly shows a 91 percent disapproval rating for the president across key regions in the country, including the South-East and the North. He also claimed that President Tinubu’s disapproval rating in Lagos stood at 78 percent.
Reacting on Wednesday via a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Onanuga took a swipe at the ex-governor, quoting a harsh assessment of Mallam El-Rufai’s character from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s memoir, My Watch.
“Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological,” Mr Onanuga wrote, citing Chief Obasanjo’s words. “Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent. At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir El-Rufai.”
The presidential adviser emphasised Chief Obasanjo’s remarks that Mallam El-Rufai often tries to elevate himself by diminishing others. “He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends,” Mr Onanuga continued, quoting the former President. “I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him.”
Chief Obasanjo, who appointed Mallam El-Rufai as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory between 2003 and 2007, did not mince words in the memoir, describing Mallam El-Rufai as suffering from “small man syndrome.”
Mr Onanuga’s post is seen as a direct rebuttal to Mallam El-Rufai’s recent criticism and growing opposition role. The former governor is reportedly playing a central role in forming a new coalition to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
In March 2025, El-Rufai officially dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), intensifying speculations about his 2027 political ambitions.
As the political rift deepens, Mallam El-Rufai remains one of the most vocal critics of the Tinubu administration, while Mr Onanuga and other presidential allies continue to push back against what they describe as “reckless” opposition rhetoric.
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