Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has said he is ready to die for the country.

Obi made the declaration in an interview broadcast by Nevon Media on Tuesday, it was reported.

“We need one man to take charge of the security challenges facing the country.

“I said somebody has to be in charge. We go into battle. If you’re ready to live, you have to be ready to die. “Go home if you’re not ready to die,” he said.

Obi reiterated that he had no reason to hold the passport of any other countries.

I am ready to die for Nigeria.” It’s a country. “Non-state actors cannot take over the state,” Obi said.

Meanwhile, Obi has said that if he was President of Nigeria, he would have removed the subsidy on petroleum products in an orderly manner.

Obi was said to have declared his support for the removal of fuel subsidy but would not have declared it on the day of his swearing-in.

The former governor of Anambra State made this known in an interview with Rufai Oseni, responding to allegations that he criticised President Bola Tinubu for the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023.

Tinubu had announced the removal of fuel subsidy at his inauguration as President.

Obi’s concern was not the removal of subsidy per se, but the process adopted by the present administration.

“I did not criticize Tinubu over the removal of the subsidy. I said I’d have taken it out but in an orderly way. Obi said, “I wouldn’t have announced it at my inauguration.

Before making such a major policy announcement, he said, he would have consulted with operators and stakeholders in the petroleum sector.

“I would have gone to the operators in the industry first because we know there is a lot of criminality around the subsidy,” he added.

Obi said that for any subsidy removal plan to be effective, there must be a clear understanding of how much the country was spending on the scheme and a strong action against corruption.

“I would remove it to see how much exactly is being spent on subsidy and also tackle the issue of exchange rate deregulation. “But the most important thing in doing these things is to fight corruption head on,” he said.

The NDC flagbearer said policy reforms should be rolled out in a way that protects ordinary citizens.

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Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has urged the Renewed Hope Projects Media Team in the state to conduct their project tour with professionalism, objectivity, fairness, and accuracy.

Governor Otti gave the charge Tuesday evening in Umuahia when the state government received members of the Renewed Hope Projects Media Tour who are in Abia to inspect various projects executed by President Bola Tinubu and Governor Alex Otti.

Represented by the Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu, Otti described the visit as a significant step towards promoting transparency, accountability and public awareness of government projects and policies across the country.

As you carry out this responsibility, I urge you to uphold the principles of professionalism, objectivity, fairness and accuracy.

“The country is in need of journalists who can rise above such challenges, resist misinformation and contribute meaningfully to the national development.

“We welcome scrutiny because we believe that genuine progress should be viewed, assessed and reported objectively,” Governor Otti said.

The governor who encouraged the media team to interact freely with Abia people, stated that the various projects executed by the Abia State Government in communities reflected the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who led the team, said in his speech on behalf of the Renewed Hope Media Tour team, that his team would objectively inspect key federal and state projects.

He stressed the need for partnership between the federal and state governments for national development.

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Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has urged local and international investors to adopt sustainable financing models for the electrification of Nigeria’s healthcare facilities, describing the sector as one of the most compelling investment opportunities in Africa.

He made the call while speaking at the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Forum, organised under the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI), at the Lagos Civic Centre, Victoria Island.

The forum, hosted by the Minister of State for Health, Dr Isiaq Salako, was convened by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in partnership with UK PACT and brought together representatives of Federal and State Governments, Chief Medical Directors, Development Partners and Private Sector Leaders.

Speaking in his remarks, Tegbe commended the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for convening the engagement, saying reliable electricity is not just an infrastructure requirement but a bedrock of healthcare delivery.

He said he had been a key stakeholder in the NPHI since its inception even before he was appointed Minister of Power noting that it was a personal commitment and reaffirmed his support on the Honorable Minister of State (Health).

He said the NPHI objectives are in line with the ongoing Power Sector Reforms and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

“It is a chance to embed energy planning into the development of health infrastructure, to deploy grid reinforcement and renewable hybrid systems tailored to the needs of health facilities, and to improve coordination among the institutions of the power sector, health authorities, regulators and private sector partners,” he said.

Minister Tegbe highlighted the magnitude of the opportunity, with over 35,000 registered health facilities at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels throughout the country, as a significant pipeline of bankable projects that could attract domestic and international capital to invest in solar mini-grids, hybrid energy systems, battery storage, energy efficiency technologies, smart metering, facility energy management platforms, operations and maintenance services, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

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Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole has reacted to his comment on the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The lawmaker clarified this in a statement on Tuesday, it was reported.

He said comments made in an interview on AIT’s Politics Today programme on Monday were misinterpreted, stressing that he never alleged that any senator’s signature was forged.

The former Edo State governor said his position was in line with that of the Senate spokesman, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, that no senator’s signature was forged because no lawmaker had complained to him about such.

He, however, said the only problem he raised was that a senator on the committee said attendance signatures of some lawmakers were attached to the final report.

Oshiomhole said, “The insinuation that I said signatures of Senators were forged is a total misrepresentation of what I actually said.

“I totally agree with the Spokesman of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Yemi Adaramodu that there was no forged signature of Senators in the suspension of Natasha Akpoti. This is because no Senator complained to me that his or her signature was forged.”

“The only comment I made was that one Senator, who is a member of the Committee, claimed’ that the signatures of attendance of some Senators were attached to the final report.

It is absolutely not true that I have accused anyone of forging signatures. The rumour should be ignored.

Oshiomhole said the matter of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension was over, saying the Senate had moved on.

“Finally, I am sorry if my comments have caused embarrassment to any Senator or the 10th Senate as an institution,” he said.

His explanation came just hours after the Senate dismissed allegations that the suspension process was manipulated, accusing Oshiomhole of trying to reopen a settled matter.

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The Senate through its Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) has vacated an N62.2 billion under-remittance query slammed on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation in the 2019 audit report.

On Tuesday, the committee held an investigative session on 77 queries on financial irregularities raised against Customs in audit reports for 2019 and 2020. The panel has called on the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.

The session was a smooth sail for Customs as the CG gave convincing responses to queries one, two and three read to him by a representative of the Auditor General of the Federation.

Meanwhile, the Auditor General’s representative, as directed by the SPAC Chairman, Senator Ibrahim Dankwabo, Gombe North, read out that in 2017, Customs collected N691.242 billion as total revenue, but remitted N629.23 billion, leaving a balance of N62.2 billion unremitted into the Federation Account.

In his response, Adeniyi said the N62.2 billion categorised as unremitted or under-remittance were levies collected by Customs for other agencies and were not meant for the Federation Account.

“The N62.2 billion under-remittance alleged against Customs in the 2019 audit report was wrongly arrived at through misclassification of levies collected,” the CG explained.

He said while most of the levies were to be collected and remitted into the Federation Account, others, like those on local production of wheat, textiles and wines, do not go into the account. “Totality of which explained the alleged unremitted N62.2 billion,” he said.

Queries 2 and 3 were explained in similar fashion. The responses made a member of the committee, Senator Babangida Hussaini, Jigawa North West to ask why the issues got to committee level.

‘I also was in the civil service before venturing into politics just like the Chairman of the Committee. “Query one, two and three that you have responded to should have been trashed out at reconciliation level with the auditors and not allowed to get to this stage, Hussaini said.

The Customs boss reminded the committee that the years under review were a time when the Senate and Customs had a frosty relationship. The committee decided to form a small committee to meet with Customs for reconciliation of issues raised in the rest of the 74 queries based on his explanation.

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The Nigerian military on Monday narrated how troops of Operation FASAN YAMMA, supported by Nigerian Air Force, rescued Mrs. Amina Abubakar, wife of the late Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former Director of Defence Information (DDI), from the den of bandits.

The rescue came after weeks of gruelling search-and-rescue operations launched after Mrs. Abubakar was abducted along with her husband by armed bandits, the military said.

The military said the troops continued to pressure the criminal group through a series of offensive operations and intelligence-driven missions to locate the kidnappers and free the victim.

Director Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, said troops made contact with the bandits at Tunga Village during one of the operations, which was the breakthrough.

The military said the bandits shot Mrs Abubakar and left her behind before fleeing when the troops closed in on their position and came under overwhelming pressure from the security forces.

The troops immediately cordoned off the area and rescued the victim, thereby ending her ordeal of captivity.

She was evacuated from the scene and taken to a military hospital for urgent medical care.

Mrs Abubakar is responding well to treatment and remains under close medical supervision, the Armed Forces said.

The military leadership has further assured that all the required support is being extended to her and her family to ensure her complete recovery.

The late Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former Defence spokesman and a senior military officer, and his wife were abducted in an incident that raised concerns and condemnation across the board.

Following the abduction, troops of Operation FASAN YAMMA intensified efforts to track down the kidnappers with ground operations, aerial surveillance and support from the Nigerian Air Force.

The armed forces would intensify their operations to track down and neutralize those behind the abduction and continue to rid Katsina State and other parts of the country of terrorists and bandits, the Armed Forces said, quoting Major General Uba.

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Following the unprecedented working tour embarked upon by wife of the President and First lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu to Benue State, the apex body of Civil Societies in Nigeria, the Conference of Harmonized Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria (COHCSIN) has described the visit as a solidarity visit by the first family to identify with the transformational leadership of His Excellency, Rev Fr Dr Hyacinth Alia and to familiarize with the good people of Benue for their unyielding support to the governor and her husband.

In a joint statement released to journalist in Makurdi, the Executive Secretary of (COHCSIN), Dr Patrick Oduma, and the Zonal Coordinator of Freelance Journalists Federation (FJF), Comrade Ibrahim Isa all reiterated the significance of the President’s wife visit to Benue to commission projects. ” Not only has the visit and commissioning of selected critical infrastructural project including an ICT center in the Governor’s home town and other intra -city roads in the state capital amongst over 512 kilometers of completed and ongoing road projects across the state serve as a moral booster for the governor, it also serve as a vote of confidence by the first family on Governor Alia to do more for the people of Benue ” We must add that governor Alia’s administration disposition to urban and rural infrastructure is highly commendable” Your Excellency is Deliberate, focused and purposeful” Dr Oduma added.

The statement further acknowledged the wife of the President for identifying Governor Alia’s people centric leadership model which aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President. ” We must commend Her Excellency, Sen Oluremi Tinubu for her vision and intiative to champion the Renewed Hope Initiative as a pet project in alignment with the Tinubu administration blueprint.
“Through your foundation, the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), which you have pioneered and implemented various social interventions for Nigerians across the country among which Benue State and her people are prime beneficiaries remain a symbol of this administration commitment to social welfare ”

Dr Oduma noted that Governor Alia’s mass appeal amongst the people of Benue is proportional to his transformational reforms and fiscal financial disciple which has brought about the state wide infrastructural milestones with direct impact on the people, part of which is being commissioned today. ” Governor Alia’s footprints are visible through the administration’s commitment to infrastructural projects and welfare which people can actually see and feel” The twin fly overs and multiple intra -city roads in the state cutting across the state as well as the aggressive opening of rural access roads and construction of culverts statewide has restored hope to farmers and rulers dwellers ” The administrations regularisation of salary and pension payments has further reinforced the governors determination to implement comprehensive welfare reforms for the people of Benue .

“We are thankful to the wife of the President for always answering to the people of Benue at short notice, your moral support remains a driving force to what our governor is doing for the people of Benue ”
In a concluding remark by Freelance Journalists Federation (FJF), Comrade Ibrahim Isa urged the people of Benue to stand by their governor and Mr President and offer them unyielding support and trust in return for sustainable good governance. The groups passed a vote of confidence on Governor Hyacinth Alia and urged the people of Benue to re-elect him for a second term in office to actualise his modest vision for the people of Benue State.

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The lawmaker representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State at the of the House of Representatives, Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, has said President Bola Tinubu is inviting anarchy to Nigeria.

Ugochinyere, who made the statement on Monday, was reacting to the recent judgment of the Federal High Court ordering the de-registration of African Democratic Congress, ADC; Action Peoples Party, APP; and three other political parties.

He cautioned that the ruling could take the country down a dangerous path reminiscent of periods of political instability in Nigeria and parts of Africa.

The Imo-born politician called on the National Judicial Council, NJC, to probe the circumstances that led to the judgment.

He also said that previous court rulings and legal arguments made before the court were not properly taken into account.

He urged the Nigerian Bar Association, NBAm, to safeguard the integrity of the judicial process, warning that the public confidence in the justice system could be eroded if the concerns raised about the judgment were not properly addressed.

“This is a call to unbridled anarchy. The judiciary is the last hope for the common man. “If we can disregard the decisions of superior courts, we are compromising one of the most important institutions of our democracy,” he said.

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The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Monday struck out an application filed by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, seeking to strike out the N110 billion fraud charge instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Maryanne Anenih, who presided over the court, held that the court has jurisdiction to entertain the case and ordered that the trial should continue.

It was reported that Bello is standing trial in Charge No. FCT/CR/778/2024: FRN v. Yahaya Adoza Bello & 2 Ors.

The former governor, through his lead counsel, J.B. Daudu (SAN), had asked the court to quash the 16-count charge, arguing that the FCT High Court lacked territorial jurisdiction to hear the case.

He also argued that the case was an abuse of court process as a related criminal case involving him was already before the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The defence contended that the existence of Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024 before the Federal High Court, made the present proceedings improper.

Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), the EFCC’s lawyer, opposed the application describing it as misconceived and aimed at delaying the trial.

Pinheiro contended that the offences under the charge were derived from provisions under the Penal Code and were thus triable before the FCT High Court.

He also argued that several properties allegedly acquired with the proceeds of the offences were situated in Abuja thereby giving the court territorial jurisdiction over the matter.

The senior advocate on the ground of alleged abuse of process of court submitted that the charges before the two courts were different in nature and substance.

He said the case before the FCT High Court was one of conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Penal Code while the case before the Federal High Court was of alleged money laundering offences under the Money Laundering Act.

Pinheiro pointed out that the parties in the two cases were not the same, as Bello was the sole defendant in the Federal High Court case, while he was standing trial with two co-defendants before the FCT High Court.

Justice Anenih in his ruling of June 16, 2026 agreed with the submission of the EFCC and held that the court possessed the necessary jurisdiction to hear the case.

The judge also found that the proceedings did not constitute an abuse of court process.

The court, therefore, dismissed Bello’s application in its entirety.

The third defendant in the case had also filed a similar application which was dismissed on the ground that it has no merit.

Justice Anenih then ordered that the trial should continue.

The court then asked the prosecution to proceed with their case by calling their 16th witness who was in court and ready to give evidence.

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Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has kicked against the deregistration of some political parties by a Federal High Court.

He described the development as a challenge to public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic and judicial institutions.

Obi, in a statement on his X handle, warned against what he called the growing politicisation of institutions that are supposed to be independent and insulated from political influence.

Reacting to the court ruling deregistering some political parties including the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Obi said nations thrive when institutions are stronger than individuals and politics.

He said the judgment of the Federal High Court ordering the de-registration of the ADC and other political parties would further undermine the confidence of the public in the country’s legal system and called for a reversal.

“We can never put our sacred institutions on the altar of politics. “Nations rise when institutions are stronger than individuals,” he said.

He recalled raising concerns during the controversy that followed the removal of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.

And the worst damage such actions did was often the impression they created of the sanctity and independence of national institutions, he said.

His case is that strong economies are built on trust. Investors can cope with security, policy and market risks, but they are often put off by uncertainty in the rule of law and perceptions of judicial intervention.

“Today, many Nigerians do not have confidence in the systems that are supposed to protect them, because increasingly, businesses insist that their contracts be governed by foreign jurisdictions because they have more confidence in those institutions than in our own.”

He vowed to dedicate himself to restoring the dignity, independence and integrity of the judiciary, stressing that justice should be impartial, accessible and respected by all citizens.

He also appealed to the judges, senior advocates, lawyers and other legal professionals to defend the rule of law and strengthen the democratic institutions in the country.

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