In it’s determination to field a consensus candidate that would defeat the incumbent in the January 16, general election, the Tinubu Must Go (TMG), nationwide community citizen-led movement has fixed Thursday, September 24 to commence internal consultation over a single opposition candidate for the 2027 presidential election.

The TMG, therefore, pleads with the presidential candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar; National Democratic Congress (NDC) Peter Obi; the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) Seyi Makinde and the African Action Congress (AAC) to set aside their differences and offer a single, viable candidate for next year’s election.

The convener of the group, Abba Hikima Esq, said they were ready to lead a delegation to meet with the candidates to formally present this appeal and discuss practical steps for advancing the dialogue.

“We respectfully urge Your Excellency to initiate and engage in high-level discussions with other leading opposition candidates to identify a mutually acceptable common ground,” he said in the copies of the letters individually addressed to the candidates.

“Political dynamics evolve rapidly as elections approach; consequently, the door to dialogue, compromise, and strategic alliance must remain open to the very end.”

While enumerating the data of the worsening conditions in the country, the TMG said the situation requires broader consideration of the national interest to arrest the widespread insecurity and human cost, economic strain and inflation, poverty and unemployment in the North and South. 

“Our primary appeal is simple: that the leading opposition candidates meet, engage in good faith, and explore every reasonable compromise capable of producing a single, consensus presidential candidate.

“We do not presume to dictate who should lead, who should concede, or what specific power-sharing arrangement should emerge. We firmly believe those decisions are best resolved through direct, high-level dialogue among the leaders themselves,” he added.

By Tony Chuddy 

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has taken the party’s bid for second term for president Bola Tinubu to Islamic clerics accross the northern region of the country 

Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC), Abdulaziz Yari, who led delegation of some council members across some states in the North Central, North West and North East geopolitical zone held consultations with faith-based stakeholders ahead of the 2027 general elections.

A statement from the office of the PCC Director General said the delegation first visited vlerics ain Jos, Plateau states before heading to Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi states where the delegation met with Muslim scholars and leaders of the Izala, Tijjaniyya, JIBWIS and Qadiriyya sects

Yari was joined in the consultations by former governors of Kano, Borno and Kebbi state Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; Ali Modu Sheriff, and Senator Adamu Aliero respectively.

Others were Senator Nasiru Sani Zangon Daura; National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, James Abiodun Faleke and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase.

The Senator Yari-led delegation were received In Jos by Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, Chairman of the Council of Ulama of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS).

Receiving the delegation in Bauchi, Sheikh Ibrahim Dahiru Bauchi, Khalifa of the Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi Zawiya, prayed for President Tinubu, demanding sustainance of dialogue between the state and the religious community.

In Kaduna, there was a long deliberations on wide range of issues bothering on burning national importance between the delegation and the National Chairman of Kaduna faction of JIBWIS, Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau.

The discussion centred on security, economic hardship and the need for mutual trust in communities of diverse ethnic nationalities.

Sheikh Bala Lau, in his remarks, commended Senator Yari for extending hands of fellowship but admonished that leaders at every level should listen more and speak to the people with sincerity.

While concluding their consultations with Muslim clerics in Kano, Senator Yari-led delegation had met with leader of the Qadiriyya movement, Sheikh Qaribullahi Nasiru Kabara, who offered special prayers for peace in Nigeria and for the success of the Council’s work.

He further urged; “the delegation should carry the message of unity to every corner of the federation.”

*** Says report confirms Tinubu’s rejection 

By Nkem Okereh 

Ahead of the 2027 general election, former vice president and presidential candidate of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) has disclosed that about 70% of Nigetians have voted to return fuel subsidy 

Recall  that Atiku has pledged to return the petrol subsidy, which was removed in 2023 by the incumbent president, Bola Tinubu, upon his inauguration on May 29, 2023

Atiku’s  campaign promise has however met rejection and criticism by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which has challenged him to tell Nigerians the ‘magic’ he would employ to return the subsidy 

Atiku, who cited the latest SBM Intelligence survey which rated fuel subsidy and insecurity as standouts for Nigerians ahead of the polls, said SMB Intelligence group survey had confirmed that Nigerians have overwhelmingly rejected President Bola Tinubu’s fuel policy and are demanding immediate relief from the crushing cost of living.

The ADC presidential candidate in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the finding that 67.4 per cent of respondents want petrol subsidy restored represents a damning public verdict on an administration that removed subsidy without a plan and condemned millions of Nigerians to unprecedented hardship.

“67.4 per cent is more than an economic statistic. It represents the growing majority of Nigerians who have rejected Tinubu’s punishing economic philosophy and are embracing Atiku’s alternative vision of a government that protects its citizens rather than abandons them to the cruelties of the market.

“This survey is no longer merely about economic policy. It has become a democratic question. When an overwhelming majority of Nigerians declare that a government policy is destroying their lives, responsible leadership must listen,” Atiku said.

The former Vice President emphasised that petrol has become the second-most cited national problem, adding that the Tinubu administration’s worst-rated policy issue, scoring a miserable 1.69 out of four.

“This survey is not merely about percentages. It is the collective cry of Nigerian families who can no longer afford food, workers whose salaries disappear on transportation, farmers who cannot move their produce to market and businesses collapsing under the weight of fuel and energy costs.

“For three and a half harrowing years, Nigerians have suffered under Tinubu’s reckless ‘subsidy is gone’ experiment. Transport costs have exploded. Food prices have soared. Businesses have collapsed. Purchasing power has been destroyed, and millions of families have been pushed deeper into poverty.

“The survey simply confirms what Nigerians already know: Tinubu’s fuel policy has caused far more harm than good. The policy has been rejected, and the government responsible for it must also be rejected,” the statement noted

He described the survey as particularly revealing because 32.4 per cent of rural respondents identified petrol as their primary concern, compared with 11.7 per cent in urban areas.

According to Atiku, “President Tinubu removed subsidy with a slogan, not a strategy. He had no credible plan for domestic refining, mass transportation, wage protection or the millions of small businesses that depend on affordable energy.

“He was warned that this reckless approach would destroy purchasing power, increase transportation costs, worsen food inflation and push more Nigerians into poverty. He ignored those warnings. Today, the Nigerian people are delivering their verdict.

“Nigerians do not eat GDP figures. A mother cannot take FAAC allocations to the market. A worker cannot fuel his vehicle with presidential promises. Any economic reform that does not improve the lives of the people has failed.

“That is where Atiku is fundamentally different. Tinubu believes in imposing higher taxes, withdrawing every form of protection and exposing citizens to the full force of an economic crisis his government helped to create. I believe that government has a duty to protect its people, strengthen domestic production and shield vulnerable families from devastating economic shocks,” he said.

The former Vice President reiterated that his proposed intervention would not revive the corrupt and opaque subsidy regime of the past.

“If elected, from May 29, 2027, I will introduce a transparent production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians.

“Imports will not qualify. The programme will have a fixed spending limit, National Assembly approval and independent audits. Its purpose will be to reduce fuel prices, strengthen domestic refining, create Nigerian jobs and restore the purchasing power that this administration has destroyed.

“The 67.4 per cent demanding relief represents a democratic majority. On the strength of that democratic mandate, we will replace Tinubu’s policy of punishment with a policy of production, protection and affordability.

“The people have spoken. The 67.4 per cent is a vote against Tinubu’s cruelty and a mandate for Atiku’s alternative. Tinubu made life expensive. Atiku will make life affordable again,” the statement concluded.