.President is strangling democracy – Atiku
.Cautions against sliding into authoritarian rule
.2027 is done deal for Tinubu -Deputy Speaker
Cyril Mbah and Jonas Ezieke, Abuja
Former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani has called for proactive and urgent actions to mitigate the suffering in the country, stating that people are not only suffering untold hardships but are experiencing abject poverty and hunger.
Sen. Nnamani, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, who spoke in Abuja on Monday warned against taking the complaints of the people about hunger for granted or un assuming, like many party officials have been doing.
He said that the ruling party has already won the 2027 general elections.
The two-term Senator made the remarks while giving a goodwill message as a member at the inaugural sitting of the APC screening committee leading to the National Convention of the party.
The APC, he said, must work hard to earn the confidence and trust of the Nigerian population before the 2027 polls by showing that the concerns and suffering of the people matter to the party.
The Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, who is also the Chairman, Aspirants Screening Sub-Committee for the 2026 APC National Convention, during the committee’s inaugural meeting, assured that the committee will be fair to all.
“We are going to be transparent. We are going to be fair. We are going to be just to all of them (aspirants).
“They are party members, and the party has guidelines that guide what we are going to do.
“We are going to do everything in accordance with the Constitution of the party and the Electoral Act.
So, they don’t have anything to fear,” stated.
Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State, who is the Co-chairman, reaffirmed in his goodwill message that members would abide by relevant rules.
“Mine is to appreciate all of you for laying a very good foundation for us to learn from you.
I was shocked when I sighted Distinguished Senator Ken Nnamani and others.
“It is a very good example for us that this is a selfless service to our party and nation.
This is not about APC but for the country.
“Whatever we do now will be for generations to come, which I am one of the beneficiaries today.
I want to appreciate you all for coming to show us the way. You have passed through this very route, and you know how tough it is,” Ododo concluded.
President is strangling democracy – Atiku
.Cautions against sliding into authoritarian rule
Meanwhile, Former Vice President of Nigeria and leading voice in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has sounded a dire warning: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is actively dismantling democracy and pushing Nigeria toward full-blown authoritarian rule, with dangerous implications for the entire West African subregion.
In a blistering condemnation on Monday, Atiku reacted to what he described as a state-sponsored siege by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on the residences and businesses of former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami—an action he called lawless, vindictive, and politically motivated.
According to Atiku’s media office, the DSS swooped in to seal Malami’s properties shortly after his visit—despite the matter being before the courts.
“This is not governance. This is intimidation. This is a regime weaponizing state power to silence dissent,” Atiku declared.
He warned that Nigeria is witnessing the rapid erosion of democratic norms under Tinubu, with state institutions now reduced to tools of political persecution.
“What we are seeing is the naked abuse of power—security agencies deployed not for national security, but for settling political scores. This is how democracies die,” he said.
Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of running a deliberate and coordinated campaign to crush opposition voices and impose total political control ahead of the 2027 elections.
“Let it be said clearly: this government is terrified of competition. That is why it is resorting to brute force—harassing, intimidating, and attempting to break opposition leaders into submission,” he stated.
He further alleged that the sustained targeting of figures like Nasir el-Rufai and Abubakar Malami is part of a broader strategy to coerce them into abandoning opposition politics and falling in line with the ruling APC.
“This is political extortion at the highest level—join us or be destroyed. That is the message being sent,” Atiku said.
The former Vice President warned that Nigeria is dangerously close to becoming a one-party state in all but name.
“When opposition is criminalised and dissent is punished, elections become a mere formality. If Tinubu wants to run unopposed, then let INEC stop wasting public funds on a sham election,” he added.
Drawing a chilling parallel, Atiku likened the current trajectory to the infamous Abacha-era self-succession plot.
“We have seen this script before. It ended in national disgrace. What is happening now is a dangerous replay—one that Nigerians must resist,” he warned.
He further accused the administration of using anti-corruption agencies as instruments of political coercion, forcing elected officials to defect under pressure.
“Governors and political leaders are being railroaded into the APC under threat of persecution. This is not politics—it is state capture,” he said.
Atiku questioned the moral basis of a system where one man seeks to bend the entire political structure to his personal ambition.
“No individual has the right to hijack the destiny of over 200 million Nigerians just to cling to power. Leadership is not ownership,” he stated.
In a final, hard-hitting warning, Atiku declared:
“Freedom of choice is the lifeblood of democracy. Once you kill it, dictatorship takes over. What Tinubu is engineering is nothing short of a civilian coup—denying Nigerians real options while pretending to run a democracy.”
“A confident leader welcomes competition. Only a weak and insecure one fears it. This administration’s actions expose its fear—and Nigerians are watching.”
.2027 is done deal for Tinubu -Deputy Speaker
In another development ,Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu has expressed firm confidence in the re-election bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027, declaring it a ‘done deal’.
Receiving the executive members of the Abia State City Boy Movement in Abuja on Monday led by its coordinator, Mayor Lucky Igbokwe, Kalu cited the administration’s achievements and strategic youth inclusion as key factors guaranteeing a seamless victory.
He lauded President Tinubu as a ‘youth-friendly leader’ who has tapped into the nation’s talent pool, welcoming the City Boy Movement as a vital partner in the upcoming electoral journey.
He said: “The beauty of this administration is the deliberate, intentional effort of the Grand Patron of City Boy Movement, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in picking talents among this demography known as the youth.
“Beyond the mandate of the City Boy Movement, he has exhibited his interest in raising a new set of Leaders for the future of Nigeria. If you take a good look at the composition of his team, the Ministers at the Federal Executive Council, you will find the best brains that he harvested from the youth population of our country, and I am proud to say that all of them are making us proud.
“It takes only a man who understands the picture of the Nigeria of tomorrow to begin to invest in the leaders that will take care of the tomorrow of Nigeria.
“Mr. President is thinking of legacy, not applause. This is the same man that against all advocacy that the youth do not have capacity to lead, deliberately invested in the youths because he understands they need to be part of the system so they can understand how to hold the baton before it’s passed on to them. He is a believer in the youth. I am sure he is working towards making sure that young men come up the ladder. And that is what good leaders do.
“My message to the youth is that you have to be ready. Batons are not handed over to the ones who are sitting as spectators, only those who are in the race by making themselves available, present and ready that will receive the baton. That is what the President is looking for through this City Boy Movement.
“People think that City Boy Movement is about Mr. President’s re-election. No, it is a platform for the selection of leaders that will lead this country in time to come. City Boy Movement is a platform across the country for harvesting talented youths of our party, that will handle responsibilities for the growth of this nation.
“As for 2027, it is a done deal. We will campaign with our policies and projects. For example, in the just concluded FCT Council election, we didn’t go into that campaign with only jingles and posters. We went into that campaign with the physical work of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
“Wike’s work was our campaign poster and jingles. We didn’t have to struggle for television interview because the fact, they say, speaks for itself.”
Kalu also said that his Renewed Hope Partners, a support group for the President is projecting the achievements of the administration to the hinterlands.
He added that he will partner with the City Boy Movement to actualize the set objectives.
“You are aware that about a year ago, I started the Renewed Hope Partners, as a platform to project the work of Mr. President. We have used it to mobilize great number of Abians.
“We are partnering with City Boy Movement. City Boy Movement in Abia state will be one of the best in the entire South East. I am going to embrace and support it”, he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Abia State Coordinator of City Boy Movement, Igbokwe said their mission is to seek partnership with the Deputy Speaker’s Office in realizing their goals.
The highpoint of the visit was the handing over of the City Boy Movement flag and a face cap to the Deputy Speaker.
