Politics

You’re Under Spell Of Marabouts, Tinubu Blasts Atiku

Published

4 weeks ago

August 29, 2026

…ex-VP claims Tinubu is 90 years old, sick

For claiming that President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old and sick, the Presidency on Friday described former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as a desperate man who is “under the spell of marabouts.”

Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said Atiku’s statement to the BBC on President Tinubu’s age represented the “last kick of a dying horse.”

The presidential aide said Atiku would stop at nothing in his desperation to become President, accusing him of racing against time in pursuit of what he described as the prophecy of his marabouts.

Ajayi said: “For former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, this is the last kick of a dying horse. He will stop at nothing in his desperation for the presidency of Nigeria. He is racing against time in his quest for the fulfilment of his marabouts’ prophecy.

“We have seen what desperation can cause for a man who should be an example of decorum and decency in political conduct. To expect better behaviour from a man who is under the spell of marabouts will certainly be asking for too much. This obsession with the private life of President Bola Tinubu has become a matter for psychiatric evaluation.

“We are at a loss as to why a man who said he wants to run his campaign on issues that affect the lives of Nigerians has reduced his chance of ever realising his elusive ambition to the personal life of President Tinubu.

“It is ridiculous to claim President Tinubu is 90 years old. Alhaji Atiku wakes up every day to just say whatever comes to his mouth with the hope that his failing campaign will gain traction.

“It is the reason he is incoherent and flip-flopping on policy issues and offering different explanations on a daily basis for his ill-digested and poorly conceived newfound policy to restore fuel subsidy.

“When he could not convince Nigerians of the soundness and workability of his new fuel subsidy prescription, the only way he hopes to remain in the news cycle and keep his floundering campaign alive is to increase the volume of personal attacks on the President.

“Let him go to court to present the evidence that President Tinubu is 90 years old. He has failed everywhere against President Tinubu, moving from court to court. He failed in his numerous court cases against President Tinubu in the United States and Nigeria in the last election cycle. He will fail again this time around.”

Tinubu is 90 years old and sick, says Atiku

The former Vice-President had earlier in a BBC interview on Friday claimed that President Tinubu is 90 years old, saying he had evidence to prove the assertion in court.

Atiku made the claim while responding to questions from the BBC about his own age and his decision to contest the 2027 presidential election.

The former vice-president, who will be approaching 80 by the time of the election, dismissed suggestions that his age could affect his ability to govern the country, insisting that he remained healthy and strong.

He said: “You have a President who is 90 years old now and sick. I am healthy; I am strong. So why would I not make my services available to my fellow countrymen?”

When challenged over his claim about Tinubu’s age, Atiku insisted that he had evidence and was prepared to produce it before a court.

“I have evidence that he is (90), and I will present it in court,” he said.

Tinubu’s publicly stated date of birth is March 29, 1952, which makes him 74 years old. Atiku did not disclose the evidence on which he based his claim during the interview.

Defending his repeated attempts to become president, Atiku said seeking elective office was his constitutional right and recalled that he had contested for governor four times but was repeatedly disqualified by military authorities during Nigeria’s transition to democratic rule.

According to him, his political career has always been marked by difficult contests and setbacks, making his repeated attempts at the presidency nothing unusual.

“I’ve never found anything easy in my life. There is nothing new there. So, because I’m contesting the presidency two or three times… that’s not anything unusual in my life — in my political life,” he said.

Atiku also spoke on the country’s security challenges, blaming the situation on what he described as the irresponsibility of successive governments and inadequate investment in policing and defence.

He argued that Nigeria’s security manpower was grossly inadequate for its population, recalling that while in office as vice-president, he raised concerns about the country having fewer than 200,000 policemen for a population of more than 200 million.

The ADC candidate expressed confidence that the country’s security challenges could be brought under control within one year if the right measures were taken.

“Believe me, within one year, we can control this insurgency and insecurity that is all over the place,” Atiku said

Politics

Crisis Rocks NDC Over Obi-Kwankwaso Campaign Council

Published

2 days ago

September 21, 2026

Editor

A fresh crisis appears to be brewing within the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) following a sharp disagreement between the party’s National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses, and the OK Movement over the latter’s role and independence ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The OK Movement, in a statement signed by its National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, accused the NDC National Chairman of making statements it described as defamatory and reflective of a misunderstanding of the movement’s structure, independence and constitutional foundation.

The statement followed a recent publication attributed to Moses concerning the movement and the involvement of its National Director General, Hon. John Ughulu, in the Lagos State primaries.

The OK Movement had, on Thursday, unveiled a 59-member presidential campaign council ahead of the 2027 general elections. Cleopas, however, on Saturday, dissociated itself from the porported campaign council.

The OK Movement urged the NDC chairman to familiarise himself with the party’s constitution before making assertions about the rights, responsibilities and independence of political movements associated with the party.

“Leadership is ultimately measured by knowledge, restraint, integrity and respect for established rules, not by insults, personal attacks or defamatory assertions,” the statement said.

The movement stressed that its support for the NDC and its candidates did not make it subject to the personal approval of any individual within the party.

According to the statement, the OK Movement recognises the supremacy of political parties within their constitutional and statutory sphere and intends to campaign for the NDC’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, as well as other party candidates across the country in areas where it has resolved to support them.

However, it maintained that it remained an independent political organisation with its own leadership, organisational structure, ideology and internal processes.

“We will campaign for the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the party,” the statement said.

“We will campaign for candidates of the NDC Party across the country where the movement has resolved to support them. But we do not require the personal validation or approval of any individual before exercising our legitimate organisational functions,” it added.

The movement further rejected suggestions that its activities were driven by the pursuit of political appointments or positions within the party.

It said the organisation was built from the grassroots and did not depend on the sponsorship of any individual or political office holder.

The OK Movement also claimed to have approximately 2.5 million registered members and coordinators in its internal database, describing itself as a long-term political movement rather than a temporary support group established for an election cycle.

The organisation said its objective was to mobilise Nigerians around demands for improved governance, economic opportunity, accountability and citizen-centred development.

Politics

Why I Lent Peter Obi My Vehicle During Benue Visit — Ortom

Published

1 week ago

September 13, 2026

Editor

Former Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, has explained why he lent his vehicle to the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, during the latter’s recent visit to the state.

Ortom, through his media aide, Terver Akase, said he decided to assist Obi with transportation as a matter of courtesy, stressing that refusing to help a former governor and presidential candidate would have been “petty” and unbecoming of a former governor.

Obi had visited Benue last Tuesday as part of plans to meet victims and families affected by the June 2025 massacre in Yelewata.

However, his planned movement from Makurdi to Yelewata was disrupted after youths reportedly blocked his convoy around Gyado Villa, a few kilometres from the airport.

Following the incident, Governor Hyacinth Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, alleged that Ortom was involved in facilitating Obi’s visit.

Tersoo said a state government investigation traced the vehicle used to convey Obi from Makurdi Airport to Ortom.

He identified the vehicle as a Toyota Land Cruiser with registration number GWA 608 BT, claiming that Federal Road Safety Corps records showed it was registered in Ortom’s name and linked to his Judges Quarters address in Makurdi.

The governor’s aide also questioned why Ortom, who has declared support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, would provide his vehicle to Obi.

But Ortom dismissed the suggestion that lending his vehicle to Peter Obi amounted to political collaboration.

He said Obi, as a former governor and presidential candidate, deserved basic courtesy while visiting the state on what he described as a humanitarian mission.

“Peter Obi is a former governor, a presidential candidate and one of the most prominent political figures in the country,” he said.

Ortom added that refusing to assist Obi would have been viewed as “petty, inhospitable and beneath the dignity of a former governor.”

He described attempts to politicise the gesture as “ridiculous and shameful”, accusing the Alia administration of creating controversy around what he called a “humane, courteous and statesmanlike gesture.”

Ortom also rejected claims that his action made him “double-faced”, noting that although he supported Obi in 2023, he had since publicly declared his support for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

Politics

2027: Tinubu Edges Peter Obi By 1.55% In Oxford-Metro Poll

Published

1 week ago

September 13, 2026

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has edged Peter Obi by 1,067 responses, representing 1.55% points in the Oxford-Metro Analytics’ National Trust Poll ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The Oxford-Metro poll, which closed on September 7, recorded 69,110 approved and unflagged responses in its final analytical dataset.

Tinubu polled 24,469 responses, representing 35.41 per cent of the total, while Obi received 23,402 responses, accounting for 33.86 per cent.

The figures placed Tinubu 1.55 percentage points ahead of Obi.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar came third with 18,430 responses, representing 26.67 per cent of the total participation.

The poll’s regional breakdown, however, showed a different picture from the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, with Tinubu recording leads in 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Obi and Atiku, meanwhile, recorded the highest number of responses in eight states each.

Tinubu’s strongest gains were recorded in parts of Northern Nigeria, where he led in Kaduna, Katsina and Gombe, states won by Atiku in the 2023 presidential election.

He also led in Kano, where New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso won the 2023 presidential election.

At the geopolitical zone level, Tinubu led in the South-West, North-West and North-Central, while Obi dominated the South-East and South-South. Atiku recorded his strongest showing in the North-East.

In the South-West, Tinubu polled 10,968 responses, representing 43.53 per cent of the zone’s total participation.

He also led in the North-West with 4,129 responses, accounting for 43.10 per cent, while his 6,370 responses in the North-Central represented 36.97 per cent of the zone’s participation.

Obi recorded his strongest regional performance in the South-East, where he secured 5,796 responses, representing 63.97 per cent.

He also led in the South-South with 2,389 responses, accounting for 41.48 per cent of the region’s total.

Atiku dominated the North-East with 1,235 responses, representing 55.46 per cent of participation in the zone.

Despite Tinubu’s wider geographical spread, the national figures showed a close contest between the three leading candidates.

Some state-level results also recorded narrow margins. In Kogi, for instance, Tinubu received 39 responses, compared with 38 for Atiku and 33 for Obi, out of 110 responses recorded.

In the FCT, Tinubu polled 5,599 responses against Obi’s 5,278, giving him a margin of 321 responses, while Atiku received 3,954.

Tinubu also led Obi in Rivers, where he received 975 responses against Obi’s 892, while Atiku polled 568.

Beyond the three leading contenders, Omoyele Sowore received 1,016 responses, followed by Seyi Makinde with 519 and former President Goodluck Jonathan with 284.

Anita Zugwai-Chukwu received 18 responses, Sandy Onor six, and Prince Kennedy Ahanotu two.

A total of 638 participants selected “I Do Not Trust Any Candidate Yet”, while 204 were undecided and 122 selected “Other Candidate”.

The poll also showed significant geographical concentration in participation, with Lagos and the FCT accounting for 54.44 per cent of all responses.

The final dataset contained 56 diaspora responses, which were excluded from the six domestic geopolitical-zone tallies.