Daily News In Bits

African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar yesterday faulted the zoning of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC presidential ticket to the South. He described the move as a setback to plans by opposition parties to displace President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 elections.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, ahead of the Africa-France Summit scheduled to hold between today and tomorrow in the East African country. The President ’s aircraft landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, at about 12.15am local time and was received by Nigerian and Kenyan government officials.

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 A Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted in absentia, a British citizen, James Nolan, a director in the controversial Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Ltd, on charges bordering on money laundering offences. Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a judgment on Monday, also found his co-defendant, Micad Project City Services Ltd, guilty as charged and accordingly convicted it too.

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. The Naira on Monday depreciated to N1,387 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,383 per dollar last week Friday. But the naira appreciated to N1,367.5per dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, NFEM.

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Federal Capital Territory, FCT, minister, Nyesom Wike on Monday, washed his hands off the controversy surrounding the screening of aspirants by the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, insisting that as a non-member of the party, the matter was entirely outside his purview. On the emerging political alignment in Rivers State ahead of 2027, Wike said his rainbow coalition would be guided by electoral pragmatism rather than fixed party loyalties.

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 The All Progressives Congress, APC, screening committee for the Rivers State House of Assembly has dismissed the list of cleared and uncleared aspirants for the 2027 elections, noting that the list did not emanate from the committee. It was earlier gathered that the committee had released a list of successful and unsuccessful aspirants to stand for the primaries of the party and that 98 people were screened.

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. The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday watched a video recording in which an Islamic cleric, standing trial over the coup plot, told investigators that he warned the suspected conspirators that their plan would fail and that they would eventually be betrayed. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik also ordered a joint trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of statements and video recordings the prosecution sought to tender against the six defendants.

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. Former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso has dismissed suggestions that his exit from the African Democratic Congress has created a damaging split in the opposition. He said he and Atiku Abubakar may yet work together before the 2027 general election.

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 The Independent National Electoral Commission says it will deploy over 1.4 million National Youth Service Corps members for the 2027 general elections nationwide. Chairman of INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the NYSC leadership in Abuja on Monday. He met the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brig.-Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, to strengthen electoral collaboration.

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 The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has warned that poor implementation of its 2025 agreement with the Federal Government could trigger fresh action across Nigerian public universities. ASUU President, Mr Christopher Piwuna, gave the warning on Monday at a news conference held after the union’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Yola.

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