Publication

Fresh blow for ADC as state congresses stall

The leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress shows no sign of abating as internal wrangling and legal hurdles have stalled the state congresses scheduled for Saturday, April 11, 2026. The crisis, which has since fragmented the party...

2027 elections: Political storm brews over PVC revalidation

The African Democratic Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party, the Obidient movement, and civil society groups on Sunday warned that the implementation of the voter revalidation exercise by the Independent National electoral Commission could...

2027 battle: INEC under fire as ADC crisis worsens

The Independent National electoral Commission has come under intense criticism, following the derecognition of the leadership of the African Democratic Congress on Wednesday. Opposition heavyweights and top leaders of the ADC on Thursday condemned the...

INEC derecognises Mark, Aregbesola, parties revolt

THe African Democratic Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party, and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi have protested the decision of the Independent National electoral Commission to derecognise the ADC National Chairman, David Mark, National...

FG eyes oil windfall to fund N9tn budget gap

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed tinubu on tuesday asked the National Assembly to approve a N9.09tn increase in the 2026 budget. The government plans to finance the budget increase through crude oil gains linked to the Unites States-iran conflict and by securing...

Military gets N2.3tn special funding amid security crisis

MILITARY and paramilitary agencies received a total of N2.3tn in special intervention funding between October 2023 and September 2025, according to the latest Federation Account Allocation Committee documents obtained by The PUNCH on Monday. The...

PDP convention: Wike bloc installs new NWC in Abuja

DELEGATES from Kebbi, Ekiti, Bauchi nd several other states on Sunday led the charge at the 2026 National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, which was backed by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. The party unveiled 19 new...

32 governors, 8,450 delegates arrive Abuja for APC convention

PResident Bola tinubu and members of his cabinet, as well as 32 state governors and 8,453 delegates from across the country, are expected to participate in the national Convention of the All Progressives Congress scheduled for Friday (today) and...

PDP factions open peace talks as Wike denies split

2027 polls: PDP govs reject Wike bloc’s consensus chair

THE crisis rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party worsened on Tuesday as governors in the party distanced themselves from the consensus selection of a national chairman and secretary by the Nyesom Wike-backed faction, insisting on legal...

Hamzat, Yayi, Alli may emerge APC consensus gov candidates

• Party moves to compensate affected aspirants, how meeting addressed aspirants’ popularity

Makinde meets Kwankwaso as PDP reconciliation falters

AHEAD of the 2027 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party governors – Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) – met with the National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Senator Seriake Dickson and former Kano State Governor and...

Starmer pushes strategic uk-nigeria alliance with N1.4tn fresh deal

THE United Kingdom and Nigeria have sealed new export agreements as both countries committed to taking their economic partnership to another level, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday. Starmer made the disclosure during a bilateral meeting...

Nigeria, Britain set for fresh security alliance

PResident Bola Tinubu on Wednesday stated that the country’s collaboration with the United Kingdom in addressing insecurity remained crucial, adding that he planned to discuss nigeria’s counter-terrorism initiatives and challenges to regional stability...

Killings spark fury, defence chiefs move into Maiduguri

SECURITY chiefs have relocated to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to take charge of the security situation following Monday night’s coordinated suicide bombings that killed 23 people and injured 108 others. President Bola tinubu, who on tuesday...

FG activates evacuation plan as Middle East crisis worsens

THE Federal Government on Monday said it is working out administrative procedures and the release of funds for the evacuation of Nigerians affected by the ongoing crisis in parts of the Middle-east East. The decision comes amid escalating tensions in...

petrol price surge sparks relief calls

•workers, businesses need govt support to cope with new fuel prices – NLC, OPS •Scrap petrol taxes, levies to ease pump prices, IPMAN tells Fg •NESG, economists outline conditions for targeted support

States demand forensic audit of $8.8bn crude-for-loan deals

State governments have called for a forensic audit of Nigeria’s crude oilbacked borrowing arrangements, warning that opaque crude-for-loan and swap deals may be undermining inflows into the Federation Account. The PUNCH earlier reported that the...

Monopoly fears rise as Dangote controls N14.4tn petrol market

•Labour, economists, energy experts flag monopoly risks in post-import-ban market •OPS warns against hasty price regulation, demands NNPC refineries overhaul •NMDPRA rejects return to fuel imports, stakeholders insist on PMS price regulation

NNPC may supply foreign crude to Dangote refinery

•Third fuel price hike looms, motorists groan as petrol nears N1,200/litre •Dangote suspends fuel sale briefly amid rising prices, marketers say •Nigeria triples crude imports from us in one year amid rising local shortage

Marketers, Dangote trade words over petrol price

AMID the escalating tensions in the Middle east, data from the Major energies Marketers Association of Nigeria has shown that a litre of imported petrol is about N64 cheaper than the one produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. However, the...

IG sets up panel to propose framework

Newly sworn-in Inspector-general of Police, Tunji Disu, on wednesday inaugurated a committee on the establishment of state police. As part of ongoing discussions on policing reforms, President Bola Tinubu, had, last wednesday, during the breaking of...

Revised Executive Order: FG adjusts oil revenue remittance framework

MEMBERS of the South-west leadership of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria staged a peaceful protest in Lagos State, denouncing the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in strikes by the United States and Israel. The development...

2027 polls won’t be 100% perfect, INEC chair warns

THE Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has assured Nigerians that the commission has the capacity to electronically transmit election results in 2027, but cautioned that it may not be able to guarantee a...

Senate rejects fresh amendment as Atiku, Obi, Amaechi push back

•Opposition accuses APC of plotting against e-transmission of 2027 poll results, demand Electoral Act review; Presidency kicks

Disu declares total war on police corruption, impunity

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Wednesday charged the newly decorated acting inspector-general of Police, Tunji Disu, to make the nigeria Police Force better than he met it, as the country grapples with banditry, terrorism, and other criminal activities. The...

Tinubu picks Disu for pre-2027 security boost, DIGS to retire

•Disu era begins as mba, 19 Digs, Aigs face retirement •2027 polls in sight as new Ig leads Tinubu’s new anti-banditry war

Presidency defends Tinubu as legal titans split over Executive Order

THE Presidency has defended President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Order, which halted revenue deductions by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other agencies. It said the Petroleum Industry Act violates and is not superior to the Nigerian...

NNPC, NUPRC fear financial squeeze after Tinubu’s order

FResh questions, concerns, and uncertainty have deepened at the oil and gas agencies affected in the wake of President Bola Tinubu’s new executive order directing immediate reallocation of oil and gas revenues to the Federation Account for onward...

Court remands suspected killers of S’africa-based Nigerian student

THE Pretoria Magistrate’s Court has remanded three suspects in custody over the murder of a Nigerian student and e-hailing driver, Isaac Satlat. According to local media outlet ENCA, the suspects — Dikeledi Mphela (25), Gotseone Machidi (26), and...

Tinubu defends assent, opposition raises hell

Opposition parties and civil society organisations have condemned president Bola Tinubu’s assent to the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment), describing the move as a setback to nigeria’s democratic progress and a legalisation of electoral manipulation ahead...

N432bn probe: EFCC detains El-rufai, DSS on standby

Adebayo Folorunsho-francis, nathaniel shaibu, solomon Odeniyi, James Abraham, Godwin Isenyo and Stephen Angbulu FORMER Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-rufai, was detained at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Abuja on...

•To review 2026 Electoral Bill again on Tuesday

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NASS to harmonise Electoral Bill Monday

MEMBERS of the Joint national Assembly Conference Committee constituted to reconcile differences in the Electoral Amendment Bill passed separately by the Senate and the house of Representatives are expected to meet on Monday as lawmakers move to...

APC, NNPP back Kwankwaso as US sanctions tension rises

THE All Progressives Congress and the New Nigeria Peoples Party have rejected the proposed visa bans and asset freezes recommended by United States lawmakers against ex-kano State Governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders...

US deploys 200 troops to Nigeria

The Senate on Tuesday bowed to intense public pressure and approved the electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal, IREV, while permitting manual collation to serve as a backup...

EDITORIAL save s’west, launch major military campaign in Kwara, Niger

aFter a Boko haram offshoot, Jama’at Nusrat al-islam wal-muslimin, mercilessly massacred nearly 200 people in the Nuku and woro communities of Kaiama Local Government area, Kwara state, on Tuesday, Nigeria now faces a national security emergency. To...

Electoral Act standoff: Senate calls emergency plenary as protests loom

THE Senate has announced an emergency plenary sitting for Tuesday amid mounting public outrage over its recent passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, particularly the rejection of a clause mandating real-time electronic transmission of election...

UN condemns killings as Türkiye pledges support

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Thursday held an emergency security meeting with the Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, as national and international outrage mounted over the massacre of residents in Kaiama Local Government Area of the state. The...

FG faces heat as 100 feared dead

OVER 100 people were feared dead on Tuesday night following a deadly attack on Woro and Nuku communities in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State by Islamic militants, while several people were also killed after bandits pounced on Abande...

Convention showdown: PDP govs resist Wike bloc’s move to dismantle committees

The Federal Government has proposed a N3.6tn deduction from the Federation Account to fund electricity subsidies in 2026, 2027, and 2028, a move designed to distribute the financial burden across federal, state, and local governments, The PUNCH...

Big money, small impact: Govs face fire over N9tn FAAC windfall

Despite receiving an estimated N9tn in Federation Account Allocation Committee inflows in 2025, state governors are facing mounting criticism from labour unions, civil society groups and opposition parties over what many describe as a widening gap...

Travels: presidency spends N34bn on forex in two years

The Presidency spent at least N34.39bn on foreign exchange purchases for international travel and related obligations over a two-year period, findings by The PUNCH have shown. The figure is according to data compiled from Govspend, a government...

CAN, others reject Shari’ah council’s call for INEC chair’s removal

The Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory has faulted the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria over its call for the removal of the Chairman of the Independent National electoral Commission,...

• Residents of Makoko, Iyana-oworo,

Owode Onirin and others carrying a wounded man as police tear-gas anti-demolition protesters in front of the Lagos State House of Assembly complex in Ikeja, Lagos…on Wednesday.

Re: SETTING The records straight on The DISQUALIFICATION of Nestoil’s Lawyers

The public is now awash with false narratives about the ongoing disputes between FBNQUEST merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited against Nestoil Limited, Neconde Energy Limited, Ernest Azudialuobiejesi and Nnenna Obiejesi and it has now...

DHQ moves to arraign alleged coup plotters

The Defence headquarters on Monday said personnel indicted after investigations into alleged misconduct by some military officers, which uncovered claims of a plot to overthrow the government, will be arraigned before an appropriate military judicial...

NDLEA nabs Brazilian lady with N3bn heroin at abuja airport

OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted a 30-year-old Brazilian woman, Ingrid Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with 30.09 kilograms of heroin concealed in factory-sealed coffee packs valued...

Abductions: US demands action, FG vows to track bandits

The United States has raised serious concerns over Nigeria’s ability to protect Christian communities following the abduction of 177 worshippers in Kaduna State, as bandits were on Thursday sighted moving freely through forest corridors with their...