Politics
2023 Presidency: Pick Female Running Mate, Tinubu Told

The All Progressives Congress, Ghana Chapter, has urged the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, to pick a female as his running mate.
The Chairman of APC Ghana, Mr Oghenosa Micheletti, who made the appeal in a statement on Friday, recalled that Tinubu, who fielded a female running mate, Mrs Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele ((1999-2003), helped him run a successful government.
Micheletti noted that Tinubu’s choice of a female as deputy led to the emergence of many women as deputy governors in Lagos State.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that apart from Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, who was deputy to former Lagos State Governor, Michael Otedola, from 1992 to 1993, the state has enjoyed having female deputy governors through Tinubu’s support.
They include Sarah Sosan (2007-2011) Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (2011-2015) and Dr Oluranti Adebule (2015-2019).
READ ALSO: 2023: Tinubu Speaks On His Running Mate After Meeting Buhari
NAN also reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission had given the presidential and governorship candidates of the 18 registered political parties eight days to pick and submit the lists of their running mates
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, gave the directive on Thursday in Abuja, at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners.
Micheletti who is also the Treasurer of the APC Diaspora Chairmen Forum, congratulated Tinubu on his emergence as APC presidential candidate, adding that the former Lagos State governor’s candidature would usher in a Nigeria that everyone envisaged.
“What this also means is that when Tinubu wins, Nigeria will have its first female vice president that will go down in history.
“Tinubu’s candidature will ensure victory for APC in 2023 and ultimately, the consolidation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s legacies.
“With a female vice-presidential candidate, Tinubu will be the first presidential candidate of a ruling party to do so, and it will usher in the gender balance that some of us advocate for.
“Tinubu shall consolidate on infrastructure, confront decisively the insecurity challenges in the country, and address the economy, using a more magnifying Lagos State template for the nation.”
According to him, the APC, through its primaries, has again shown Nigerians that it remains a truly progressive party.
“The landslide victory of our Leader, Tinubu is an indication that our delegates made the right choice; his popularity and acceptance as the only formidable politician that can guarantee victory for our party in the general election is evident in the wide margin of results at the primaries.
“No doubt his track record as a true democrat and impactful leader through the years, is an undeniable factor in his triumph.”
READ ALSO: INEC Gives Atiku, Tinubu, Others One Week To Present Running Mates
The APC Ghana chairman also applauded the party’s national chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, for organising a free and fair primary election where the will of the people prevailed.
“We appreciate our president, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for his exemplary leadership, particularly for not imposing any candidate on the party.
“We also congratulate all the aspirants for displaying great sportsmanship which has added value to our democratic system.
“It is now time to close ranks and unite the party for the tasks ahead. The party leadership must reach out to all aggrieved members especially the aspirants in the contest and their followers, because we are one family that can only win in 2023 with a united front,” Micheletti added.
He, therefore, pledged the support of members of the party in Ghana for the APC in the 2023 General Elections.
Tinubu won the APC presidential primary on Wednesday, beating 13 other aspirants to clinch the party’s ticket.
READ ALSO: APC Primary: How Northern Governors Dumped Amaechi For Tinubu
Politics
Probe Natasha’s Allegations Against Akpabio, Afenifere Urges FG

The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has urged the Federal Government to investigate sexual harassment allegations levelled by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The call followed the Senate’s decision to lift Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension.
This, Afenifere said should not overshadow the need to establish the truth of her claims.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Afenifere’s National Organising Secretary, Kole Omololu, said the senator’s recall reflected commitment to the rule of law.
“We commend the Senate President, His Excellency Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate leadership for taking a decision that further reinforces the country’s rule of law,” Omololu said.
READ ALSO:Natasha Resumes At Senate, Calls Akpabio Dictator
The group, however, insisted that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations must not be ignored.
“For over six months, where are the facts and evidence of her grave allegations?” Afenifere asked.
It called on the “Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to carry out a full investigation into the matter.”
Afenifere also recalled Akpoti-Uduaghan’s past false sexual harassment claims against former presidential aide Reno Omokri, which ended in an out-of-court settlement.
“Does this not suggest that, without proof, her allegations against Akpabio are suspicious?” Omololu asked.
READ ALSO:UK Regulator Reports Air Peace Over Alleged Safety Violation
The group further criticised Akpoti-Uduaghan for taking her claims to international media, including BBC, CNN, Sky News and Deutsche Welle, saying the move portrayed Nigeria negatively abroad.
It also queried her participation in a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in New York.
“If Natasha truly participated in the IPU meeting without due nomination, then it simply revealed her compromise or manipulation of our public institutions for pecuniary ends,” the group said.
In March 2025, Natasha was suspended for six months after a row in plenary and her petition accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.
READ ALSO:Naira Appreciates Massively Against US Dollar In The Black Market, Highest In 15 Months
She claimed the incident happened in December 2023, but the Senate’s Ethics Committee dismissed her petition on procedural grounds. Despite a court order halting disciplinary action, the Senate went ahead with her suspension, which also froze her pay and barred her from official duties.
Akpoti-Uduaghan challenged the suspension in court, insisting it was tied to her allegations. While the Senate said it acted over misconduct, the case attracted global attention after she granted interviews to international media. The matter remains unsettled, with Afenifere now urging federal authorities to investigate her claims.
Meanwhile, Natasha formally resumed her duties at the National Assembly on October 7, 2025, after her six-month suspension ended – and immediately claimed that Akpabio is a dictator.
And almost immediately, Akpabio’s media aide Kenny Okolugbo debunked the claim.
Politics
2027: Drama As Atiku Disowns Media Consultant Over Statement On Yoruba

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denied any association with a media consultant named Kola Johnson.
This is as he also rejected statements released by the media consultant on Wednesday that he would protect Yoruba interests if elected as president in 2027.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Thursday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, alleged that “faceless mercenaries” are behind the false press statement just to discredit him.
He also dismissed the claim as “false and offensive,” describing it as part of a calculated propaganda project to ridicule him in the media.
READ ALSO:Alleged Age Falsification: Absence Of Five Ex-police Officers Stalls Arraignment
The statement specifically mentioned one Kola Johnson, described as a “self-styled media consultant,” who allegedly released a publication claiming that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group.
The statement read, “Our findings point directly to the Presidency, which, in its desperation to smear opposition leaders, has resorted to hiring faceless mercenaries to fabricate fake stories and circulate unauthorised statements on Atiku.
“Particularly offensive is the false claim attributed to this individual that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group. This disinformation is part of a calculated propaganda project designed to ridicule Atiku in the media.
“Let it be clear: Atiku Abubakar has never engaged one Kola Johnson as a media consultant, aide, or associate. Any statement issued in that name is fake and should be disregarded. We urge media houses that have published such falsehoods to immediately retract them.”
READ ALSO:Why I Resigned From PDP – Atiku
The statement also clarified that authentic information on the former Vice President is only released through his Media Adviser or Special Assistant on Public Communications.
“Editors and media gatekeepers are strongly advised to verify with the Atiku Media Office before publication,” the statement added.
It was widely reported on Wednesday that Atiku has assured people of the South-West geo-political zone that their interest would remain central to his policy direction if elected President in 2027, noting that his long-standing marital and cultural ties to the region make him family.
The report quoted a statement by one, Kola Johnson, as saying that the former Vice President spoke during an engagement with select stakeholders.
READ ALSO:2027 Coalition: Atiku, Secondus, Other PDP Leaders Meet In Abuja
The report said Atiku described the people of the South-West as one of the finest species of the human race, noting that his marriage to a Yoruba woman in the 1970s forged a permanent bond between him and the Yorubas.
He dismissed fears of Hausa/Fulani domination under his leadership as unfounded, insisting that the Yoruba were his larger extended family and in-laws.
The former vice president added that his Yoruba connections extend beyond family, as some of his closest friends and associates were from the region.
“In case you don’t know or have forgotten, I was married to my first wife, Titi, a Yoruba woman, in the 70s, and we have four Yoruba children together. She is now over 75 years old, and we are still together.
“Besides, the Yoruba are so sophisticated and highly educated that you can only toy with them at your peril,” Atiku stated. “My Ijesha-born Yoruba wife is more than a wife to me. Aptly put, she is my Jewel of Inestimable value and anybody who knows about my family, even from a distance, can easily tell you this.”
Politics
PHOTOS: Atiku, El-Rufai, Tambuwal, Others Attends ADC Meeting In Abuja

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday attended a meeting of the African Democratic Congress coalition leaders in Abuja, alongside several prominent politicians.
Among those present were former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; ex-Minister of Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; ADC National Chairman and former Senate President, David Mark; former Kwara State governor, Abdulfatai Ahmed; and ex-Sokoto governor, Aminu Tambuwal.
In a post on his official X handle, Atiku described the gathering as part of efforts to resist what he called entrenched interests holding back Nigeria’s development.
He stated that the meeting was also against the oligarchs who promote poverty and insecurity in the country.
He wrote, “I am currently at the stakeholders meeting of the Coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abuja. It’s a meeting of the Nigerian people against the oligarchs who promote poverty and insecurity in the land.”
The ADC coalition was adopted in July by opposition politicians as the platform to challenge for power in the 2027 general elections.
The African Democratic Congress, originally formed in 2005 as the Alliance for Democratic Change, later changed its name to ADC and was officially registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2011. The party positioned itself as a centrist alternative to the dominant Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress.
READ ALSO:ADC Will Take Over Aso Rock, Lagos Govt House In 2027 — Aregbesola
Over the years, it has attracted defectors and reform-minded politicians seeking to build a third force in Nigeria’s political landscape.
Other members of the coalition include former PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus; 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi; ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; former House of Representatives Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha; ex-Kogi Central Senator, Dino Melaye, and a former National Chairman of the APC, Odigie Oyegun.
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