The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the rising cost of living and insecurity in Nigeria, promising to make life affordable and restore security if given the opportunity to lead the country.

Atiku made the pledge in a post on his official X account on Wednesday, where he urged registered voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards ahead of the next general election.

The former Vice President said Nigerians across different age groups were struggling with economic hardship and growing security concerns.

“My fellow Nigerians, young and old, I know the pain you are carrying,” Atiku wrote.

He lamented that parents were worried about feeding their children, while pensioners were forced to make difficult choices between buying food and purchasing medicines.

The former vice-president also expressed concern over the financial difficulties facing young Nigerians, noting that many workers could barely meet their basic needs despite their earnings.

“Young people work hard, yet transport, rent and basic needs consume what they earn,” he said.

Atiku further decried the persistent threat of kidnapping and attacks across the country, saying many families lived in fear for the safety of their loved ones.

“And across the country, families live with the fear of kidnapping, attacks and whether their loved ones will return home safely,” he added.

He said Nigerians should not be forced to endure hunger and insecurity simultaneously, warning against allowing the prevailing challenges to become the future inherited by younger generations.

“No family should have to face hunger and insecurity at the same time. We cannot allow this hardship and fear to become the future our children inherit,” Atiku stated.

Calling on eligible voters to participate in the electoral process, he urged registered voters to collect and safeguard their PVCs, describing the cards as instruments for demanding change through peaceful democratic participation.

“If you are a registered voter, please go and collect your PVC. Hold on to it. It is your voice, your choice and your peaceful power to demand change,” he said.

Atiku, who has been a presidential candidate in previous elections, blamed President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the high cost of living and pledged to reverse the trend.

“Bola made life expensive. I will work to make life affordable again and restore the security every Nigerian deserves,” he said.

He called for national unity across generations, urging Nigerians to support his vision of a country where families could live safely and with dignity.

“Let us stand together, across generations, and vote for a Nigeria where every family can live with dignity, safety and hope,” he added.

Source: punchng.com

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Three opposition political parties have backed the inclusion of their chieftains in the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council to re-elect President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.

The parties — the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance and Accord, expressed support for the roles assigned to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo; and his Osun State counterpart, Ademola Adeleke, in the ruling party’s revised campaign council.

The APC named the three politicians in its expanded Presidential Campaign Council on Tuesday, despite their affiliations with parties other than the ruling party.

This comes as the APC national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, while receiving the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola-led Savannah Centres for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, on Tuesday, confirmed that the ruling party appealed to Wike, Adeleke, Soludo and other opposition figures to support and work for Tinubu’s re-election.

While Wike is a prominent PDP chieftain, Soludo belongs to APGA, while Adeleke is a member of the Accord.

Their inclusion reflects the political alliances and cross-party relationships shaping the race ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking exclusively with The PUNCH on Wike’s inclusion in the council, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP National Caretaker Committee, Jungudo Mohammed, said the minister’s willingness to work with Tinubu was never in doubt.

He explained that the PDP had given Wike the go-ahead to support the President from the beginning of the current administration.

“The FCT minister got the blessing of the PDP during the era of its former National Chairman, Umar Damagum, to work with Mr President. His inclusion in the Presidential Campaign Council was therefore expected but this does not make him a member of the APC National Working Committee.

“Every political party including the PDP would like to have Mr Nyesom Wike in their campaign council, but the party had already endorsed his invitation to help the current administration from day one. He is working for President Tinubu and not for APC.”

APGA also welcomed Soludo’s appointment as the Anambra State coordinator of Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign, describing it as well deserved.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ejimofor Opara, the party congratulated the governor and reaffirmed its support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.

“The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Grand Alliance heartily congratulates our National Leader and Governor of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, on his well-deserved appointment as the Anambra State Coordinator of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2027 Presidential Campaign Council.

“This appointment is a testament to Governor Soludo’s exemplary leadership, his uncommon commitment to progressive ideals, and his consistent advocacy for a strategic partnership between APGA and the Federal Government for the collective good of Ndi Anambra and Ndigbo at large.

“As a party, APGA has made its position clear. At our National Executive Committee meeting and during Mr President’s working visit to Anambra on May 8, 2025, we formally adopted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as our consensus presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

“In line with this resolution, APGA did not field a presidential candidate for the 2027 election,” the statement read.

The party said Soludo’s appointment was consistent with its political position and its support for cooperation between APGA and the Federal Government.

It added that the governor’s message that “Progressives are working together” reflected a shared political outlook between the party and the ruling party.

“Governor Soludo’s mantra that ‘Progressives are working together’ is not just a slogan, but a statement of historical truth.

“APGA, as the first truly progressive party in Nigeria, shares ideological DNA with the progressive movement at the centre.

“This synergy has already yielded tangible dividends for Anambra State, including federal collaboration on critical infrastructural interventions and economic development enablers.”

Reaffirming its position ahead of the elections, APGA said it would continue to seek electoral victories for its candidates at the state and federal legislative levels while supporting Tinubu.

The statement further stressed that “while APGA remains firmly in control of Anambra State, our position remains: In Anambra, it is Tinubu for President, APGA for Senate, House of Representatives, and state House of Assembly.

“We are confident that Gov Soludo will bring his intellectual depth, organisational capacity, and wide acceptability across the Southeast to galvanise massive support for President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.”

Similarly, a chieftain of the Accord and member representing Ede South/Ede North/Ejigbo/Egbedore Federal Constituency of Osun State, Bamidele Salam, described Adeleke’s appointment to lead Tinubu’s re-election campaign in Osun as “a welcome development.”

Salam’s reaction signals support for Adeleke’s campaign role despite the governor’s membership of the Accord Party rather than the APC.

Our appeal

The APC national chairman, Prof Yilwatda, confirmed that the ruling party had reached out to opposition leaders to seek their support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

He stated, “You see, the APC is doing a lot, and despite our achievements and accomplishments as a government, we are still not relaxing. We are not resting. We have been reaching out to all stakeholders, including our party members and even those who are not members of our party.

“In Osun State, we contested the election against the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, of the Accord. Our party lost that election, but we approached the governor. We begged him and asked him to work for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election. He agreed to work for the President’s re-election.

“In Anambra State, we also lost to the APGA candidate, the incumbent governor, Charles Soludo. But after the election, we went back and appealed to him because we know that he is a stakeholder in that state.

“We appealed to him to come and work for us, work for our party and support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election. He agreed to work for us.

“We did the same thing in other states, including Rivers State. We begged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Wike, to work for the party. He has agreed to work for the candidate, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in Rivers State and the FCT.”

Yilwatda said the APC’s efforts to secure support across party lines were driven by the national interest, stressing that the initiative was aimed at advancing the interests of the Federal Republic of Nigeria beyond partisan considerations.

“So, the party is moving. We are reaching out to Nigerians. We are not just relaxing and saying that we are delivering good governance or the dividends of democracy. No. We are reaching out to stakeholders to support our party across party lines.

“The interest goes beyond political parties. This is in the interest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and that is why we are doing what we are doing,” he said.

‘Rainbow Coalition stays’

Meanwhile, Wike has insisted that the Rainbow Coalition will remain a feature of Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking at his monthly media chat in Abuja on Tuesday, Wike played down claims that the coalition had caused unease among APC governors or might trigger defections from the ruling party.

Wike has continued to promote the Rainbow Coalition in Rivers State and FCT in support of Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.

He recently alleged that Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, were behind some of the political challenges confronting him, linking their opposition to the coalition’s growing influence and its support for politicians challenging APC candidates in governorship and senatorial elections.

Uzodimma, who chairs the APC Progressive Governors’ Forum, has said APC governors would not support any alliance capable of undermining Tinubu’s re-election or weakening the party ahead of 2027, insisting that they would campaign for APC candidates at all levels.

Wike, however, maintained that his support for Tinubu’s presidential bid did not require him to back APC candidates in other elections, saying he remained free to support candidates of his choice, amid continued tensions between him and some APC governors.

Wike maintained that the Rainbow Coalition had come to stay, adding that, “If you have any problem against me, come out and face Wike. Don’t go under the Rainbow Coalition. For Rainbow Coalition, it has come. It will stay. There is nothing anybody can do about it.”

Wike, who oversees the coalition’s activities in Rivers State and the FCT, said it brings together APC members and supporters of President Tinubu from other political parties to work towards a common goal.

He said, “If you see that word, PBAT/APC, it means those who are supporting the President who are not members of the party, together with the party, are working together to achieve that purpose.

“The major thing is Mr President. Whatever we are going to do, whoever has any idea or anything to contribute is to the success of Mr President. That is the whole thing.”

Wike cited the FCT as an example of the coalition’s effectiveness, saying its members would support Tinubu in the 2027 election while backing APC candidates for the National Assembly.

He questioned why the arrangement should be considered problematic and dismissed suggestions that the political alliance was new to Nigeria.

Wike added, “When you say a new thing that never happened, I don’t think so,” adding that such backing had existed before without being formalised.

“But this time, it came out because of the period we are in,” he said.

Source: punchng.com

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has given political parties whose candidates were omitted from its final list for the 2027 governorship elections until October 24 to notify it of the alleged errors.

The commission said the deadline was in line with Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which provides a 14-day window for political parties to notify it if they believe their candidates were wrongly excluded from the list.

INEC made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday evening by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, amid controversy over the omission of several prominent politicians from the final list of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates.

Among those missing from the list are the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidates in Ogun and Gombe states, Oladipupo Adebutu and Isa Ali Pantami, respectively.

Also omitted was the Nigeria Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Kano State, Aminu Gwarzo, while the African Democratic Congress in Jigawa State protested the omission of its endorsed deputy governorship candidate, Aminu Ringim, and several other candidates.

The omissions have triggered protests and calls for clarification from affected political parties and candidates, with some threatening to pursue legal action to secure their inclusion.

The controversy followed the Supreme Court’s September 24 judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, appeal number SC/CV/495/2026, which upheld the constitutionality of provisions of the Electoral Act governing political party membership registers and candidate nominations.

In the statement titled, “Clarification on the Omission of Some Candidates from the Final List for the 2027 Governorship Election,” INEC said the apex court had upheld Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026.

The provisions require political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC within the stipulated period and use the registers for their primaries, congresses and conventions.

“The general public is aware of the recent decision of the Supreme Court in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026 delivered on 24th September, 2026,” the Commission said.

The electoral body added that the judgment arose from its appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that had nullified the disputed provisions of the Electoral Act.

“However, the Supreme Court, in the aforementioned judgment, held that the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 are constitutional and mandatory for all political parties,” the statement read.

According to INEC, the court also upheld Item No. 2 of its timetable and schedule of activities, which required political parties to submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.

The commission said the Supreme Court further held that political parties that failed to comply with the requirements were ineligible to sponsor candidates for the election.

“Furthermore, the court held that failure to comply with the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) renders the defaulting political parties ineligible to sponsor any candidate for the election,” it stated.

INEC explained that it applied the judgment while finalising the governorship candidates’ list, excluding parties that failed to comply with the membership-register requirements.

INEC said its action was in accordance with Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which requires authorities to enforce decisions of the courts.

The commission, however, noted that the final lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates had been published on September 12, 2026, 13 days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment, adding that the deadline for parties seeking corrections to the governorship candidates’ list was October 24.

“Under Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly left off the list have 14 days from the date of publication to notify the commission. The deadline is 24th October, 2026,” the statement added.

The commission’s clarification comes amid growing concerns over the implications of the Supreme Court judgment for political parties and their candidates ahead of the February 6, 2027 governorship elections.

INEC assured Nigerians of its commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process.

Source: punchng.com

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