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Debate: Tinubu Has Many Things Hidden – Atiku’s Spokesperson

Published

3 years ago

December 18, 2022

Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant (Public Communication) to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, Sunday, said presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has refused to make himself available for debates and scrutiny because he had many things to hide.

According to him, Tinubu’s refusal to “open himself up for scrutiny, evading debates, non-partisan town hall meetings and live interviews” has exemplified the biblical theory that, “the wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Shaibu in a statement titled, “Reveal your real name, background, Atiku campaign dares Tinubu,” alleged that the entire life and persona of the APC standard bearer was based on falsehood and thus cannot address the questions and so, decided to continue to run all over the place.

He said, “But these controversies did not begin today. In 2007, a former head of the civil service of Lagos State, Abdulrafiu Babatunde Tinubu, one of the eldest members of the Tinubu family, published a book titled, “Onijumu Wura: The Tinubu Dynasty of Kakawa, Lagos (The Tree).

“Abdulrafiu included the names of all members of the Tinubu dynasty from the 19th century till date. Conspicuously missing from the book was the name of Bola Tinubu. The author claimed anyone whose name was not listed in the book was not an authentic member of the Tinubu family.

“Atiku Abubakar’s history has never been in doubt. His father was Garba Abubakar, a Fulani trader and farmer while Atiku’s mother was Aisha Kande. Atiku was named after his paternal grandfather Atiku Abdulqadir who hails from Wurno, Sokoto State and migrated to Kojoli village at Jada, Adamawa State. His maternal grandfather was Inuwa Dutse who migrated to Jada, Adamawa State from Dutse, Jigawa State.

“Where is Tinubu from? Who are his parents? Who was Tinubu’s father? What was his name? What is Tinubu’s full name? Is it Bolatito, Omobolanle, Abolaji, Bolarinwa?

“While it is not uncommon for leaders to use a short version of their names, most times, for the purpose of stylistic rendition, the full outlay of their names is nonetheless public knowledge.

“In the Second Republic, such names as Bisi Onabanjo, Bola Ige, Bisi Akande and many more from the Southwest region are brand names of great political icons. But even as it were, everyone knew that the Governor of Ogun State in the Second Republic was known in full as Olabisi Onabanjo, ditto for Ajibola Ige and the rest of such examples.

“However, it is confounding that in the case of the APC presidential candidate, he is simply known as Bola Tinubu. No one knows the prefix or suffix to his ‘Bola.’

“Tinubu also seems to have moved from infancy directly to university in the United States of America hence his record as the only Presidential candidate in the history of Nigeria not to include his primary and secondary school information on his INEC Form CF001.

“Earlier in 1999, while contesting for the governorship of Lagos State, he lied on oath that he attended St. Paul’s School, Aroloya and Government College Ibadan but his credentials were soon challenged by the late legendary lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) even as it had been established that Tinubu had no classmates in primary or secondary school.

“Eager to avoid another embarrassing scrutiny, he has now decided to be silent about his primary and secondary education. Rather than tell the truth, his Campaign Spokesman, Festus Keyamo, shamelessly stated on Arise Television that Tinubu did not attend primary or secondary school and should thus be commended for beating the odds.

“They are asking what primary school one must have attended to go to secondary school. We want the younger ones to know that this is a virtue and not a vice. In those days, great men wrote exams from home,” Keyamo said. This is complete balderdash given the fact that Keyamo had in 2000 sued the Lagos State House of Assembly for clearing Tinubu of school certificate forgery.

“Since the APC continues to insist that they will not present their presidential candidate for media scrutiny, may we, therefore, call on the media handlers of this particular ‘Bola’ Tinubu to avail the country and its people the full outlay of Bola Tinubu’s name.

“The country and its people need to know if the man seeking to become their president is known as Adebola, Ajibola or, perhaps, it’s just simply: Bola(lokan)?

“The nation shall be most grateful if the APC can remove this tiny veil out of the many shades about their presidential candidate that they don’t want the Nigerian people to know about.

“It is often said that you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Nigerians must not allow a stranger, an anonymous man with no record to control the destiny of over 200 million people.”

News

PAP Sends Additional 34 Foreign Post-graduate Scholarship Beneficiaries To UK Varsities

Published

7 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has deployed an additional 34 foreign post-graduate scholarship beneficiaries to various universities in the United Kingdom for the 2025-2026 academic year.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Warri by Mr Igoniko Oduma, Special Assistant on Media to Dr. Dennis Otuaro, the Administrator, PAP.

According to the statement, the scholars’ programmes include data science, fintech analytics, cyber security, international energy law and policy, construction project management, public health, agri-food technology, electrical and petroleum engineering, among others.

The statement added that more foreign post-graduate scholars will be sent to UK universities in the current academic session.

“In December 2025, nine students, who were the first set of offshore post-graduate scholarship developments by the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, for the 2024-2025 academic year, graduated from their various programmes in UK universities.

“Otuaro has deployed over 9000 students to universities within and outside Nigeria for different industry-relevant programmes since he assumed office in March 2024,” the statement partly reads.

Speaking at the pre-departure orientation programme for the scholars at the PAP headquarters in Abuja, on Thursday, Otuaro said that the large-scale deployment was aimed at making the Niger Delta a knowledge-driven region.

He said that his leadership reinvigorated the programme to give it a new momentum in service delivery to the people of the region based on the mandate of President Bola Tinubu.

Otuaro said, “We are sending all of you for post-graduate studies in various universities in the United Kingdom.

“The PAP now has a new momentum and direction because of the repositioning and broad reforms that we carried out in line with the mandate of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR.

“The objective behind the huge scholarships deployment is to ensure that we develop the needed human capital to transform the Niger Delta and generate knowledge-wealth.

“We want to develop relevant manpower in critical disciplines for our region and by extension, the country, because you are expected to contribute your quota to national development after successful graduation.”

The PAP boss, who was represented at the event by his Technical Assistant, Mr Edgar Biu, advised the scholars to study hard to achieve academic excellence in their various fields of research.

According to him, the scholars have an obligation to justify the Federal Government’s investment in their education and future.

He reiterated his warning that beneficiaries should not take for granted the opportunity to further their academic pursuits in the interest of the Niger Delta and indeed the country.

Otuaro expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his “enormous interest and support for the Programme”, particularly the approval of an upward review of the programme’s budget from N65billion to N150billion.

He also expressed gratitude to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his impeccable guidance and supervision of the programme’s initiatives.

Otuaro, therefore, cautioned the scholars to obey their host country’s laws and the rules and regulations of their various institutions, stressing that they are ambassadors of Nigeria, the Niger Delta and their communities and families.

Highpoint of the orientation programme was the presentation of laptops to the scholars to help them in their studies.

News

Industrial Court Bars Resident Doctors From Strike

Published

8 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The National Industrial Court in Abuja has issued an interim injunction restraining the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and its agents from embarking on any form of industrial action, including strikes, go-slows, picketing, or preparatory steps for protest, from Monday, January 12, 2026.

Justice E.D. Subilim ordered that the injunction remain in force pending the hearing of the motion on January 21. The suit was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Federal Government against NARD, its president, Dr Mohammad Suleiman, and Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim.

The court order comes days after resident doctors at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, declared their full support for the nationwide strike announced by NARD over the government’s alleged failure to honour critical welfare and training agreements.

UDUTH doctors cited the non-reinstatement of five disengaged resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, unpaid promotion and salary arrears, and incomplete implementation of the Professional Allowance Table as key grievances. Other unresolved issues include withheld specialist allowances, delayed house officers’ salaries, postgraduate training certification delays, and deteriorating hospital infrastructure.

However, NARD had on Tuesday noted that there was no going back on the industrial action, insisting that the strike is necessary and not politically motivated. Speaking in Abuja, Dr Suleiman said the withdrawal of services from midnight on Monday is a response to “unmet commitments, shifting government positions and worsening working conditions for resident doctors, not partisan considerations.”

He argued that none of the demands outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Federal Government on November 27, 2025, have been implemented.

“Every issue is either at the same point where it was when we signed the MoU or we have even gone backwards,” Dr Suleiman said, adding that claims by the Ministry of Health that some issues had been resolved were misleading.
He further challenged the government to show where N90 billion, allegedly allocated in the 2026 budget for health workers’ professional allowances, has been provided.

The association also demanded the immediate reinstatement of the five disengaged resident doctors at FTH Lokoja with full back pay and rejected plans to redeploy them elsewhere.

Other grievances include delayed promotion arrears across 62 tertiary institutions, non-recognition of specialist certificates, and outstanding salary and allowance payments affecting nearly 40 percent of resident doctors.

While NARD remains open to dialogue and has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for decisive intervention, it warned that unless concrete action is taken, the planned industrial action will go ahead, potentially disrupting healthcare services nationwide. Dr Mujitaba Umar, President of the UDUTH chapter, described the situation as “difficult but unavoidable,” while the chapter’s General Secretary, Dr Muhammad Abdulrahman Hassan, urged the Federal Government to act swiftly “in the interest of the Nigerian populace and the healthcare system.”

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Nigeria To Get Fresh $9.5m Abacha Loot From UK’s Jersey

Published

9 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

Nigeria to receive fresh $9.5 million (£7 million), believed to be stolen funds linked to former military Head of State, Sani Abacha, from the United Kingdom’s Jersey.

According to the BBC, Jersey has agreed to repatriate the fund to the Nigerian government.

The money, described as proceeds of “tainted property,” is said to be part of the vast fortune stolen by Abacha, who ruled Nigeria between 1993 and 1998.

The funds were kept in a bank account in Jersey and had been tied up in legal proceedings for several years.

Although the assets were first recovered during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, court challenges stalled their return to Nigeria. Progress was made in December 2025 when Jersey’s Attorney-General, Mark Temple, signed a memorandum of understanding, MoU, with Nigerian authorities to enable the repatriation.

The latest agreement builds on two earlier arrangements between Jersey and Nigeria that led to the return of more than $300 million (£230m) in recovered assets.