President Bola Tinubu, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, Mr Babatunde Fashola, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Honourable Mudashiru Obasa pray at Dodan Barracks. Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON @aonanuga1956 STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE
EID-EL-KABIR: PRESIDENT TINUBU URGES TOLERANCE, GENEROSITY, UNITY AMONG NIGERIANS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on Nigerians to use the celebration of Eid-el-Kabir to deepen the values of tolerance, generosity, and peaceful coexistence.
He spoke after performing the congregational prayers at Dodan Barracks in Lagos on Wednesday, urging citizens to shun ethnic divisions and all forms of hatred that undermine national unity.
He was joined in the prayers by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, Oba of Lagos Rilwan Akiolu, Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, and other dignitaries.
President Tinubu said the sacred occasion remains a profound reminder of obedience, sacrifice, love for humanity and total submission to the will of Almighty Allah, as demonstrated by Prophet Ibrahim.
“We thank Almighty Allah for making us witness another year of Eid-el-Kabir. We thank Him for His mercy, and we must learn from this season's lessons, namely, showing love to one another. No discrimination, no ethnicity, no hatred; we should share love and be generous to one another in a way that reflects the values of our country and humanity.
“It is essential that we should be very tolerant and obedient to the wishes of Allah and the rule of law, which must guide our society’’ the President said.
He emphasised that Nigeria’s strength lies in its diversity and common humanity, noting that no ethnic, religious or political difference should outweigh the collective aspiration for peace, progress and national development.
The President urged citizens to reflect on the enduring lessons of the season by showing kindness to one another, supporting the less privileged, and placing greater value on the sanctity of human life, noting that banditry has no place in the holy books.
"Nowhere in the holy teachings does it say you should engage in banditry or take a human life. The sacrifice we speak of, even from the beginning of life, where we take these lessons, teaches us that a child was replaced with an animal. That is the value placed on human life,” the President said.
In his sermon, the Grand Chief Imam of Lagos State, Sheikh Sulaimon Abou-Nolla, emphasised the need for Muslims to fear Allah and promote unity, generosity, and sacrifice in line with the teachings of the Holy Book. He prayed for the President’s continued good health and wisdom, and commended the sacrifices of Nigeria’s past leaders who helped build a united nation.
Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
May 27, 2026 
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Omoyele Sowore steps down as AAC chairman and is adopted as AAC consensus candidate.Omoyele Sowore @sowore THE SPEECH OF HISTORY!
AAC! Take It Back!
Take It Back!!
Action!!!
No Going Back!
Firstly, I want to thank you all for turning out en masse for this historic event. Leaders and members of the party, and every well-meaning Nigerian who took time out to be here today. If you are present in this hall, it is because you truly love Nigeria and believe in the revolutionary process we preach as the only path to a better society. I greet you all — not like the other guys who say “fellow Nigerians” when what they actually mean is their fellow crooks who have brought us to the sorry state we are in today.
I stand before you today, accepting the confidence you have bestowed upon me, with clenched fists of solidarity. Everyone here represents the spirit of the oppressed masses gathered in every shanty, village, and town across the length and breadth of this country — from Badagry to Bakassi, Baga to Balle, and Gumel to Bonny. Yes, we represent all the oppressed people of Nigeria.
This year, our party, the African Action Congress, turns eight years old. As the only registered socialist party in Nigeria and indeed the only genuine opposition, we have stood firm as a moral and ideological alternative to the criminal conspiracy that other parties disguise as democracy.
When we started, they said everything imaginable about us. Yet, we have survived what many so-called heavyweight political parties could not — infiltration, state-sponsored attacks, and relentless persecution. We have remained the unwavering voice of truth for Nigerians. It is now clear to all that we do not want a seat at the table; we are here to shatter the table from which Nigerians have long been subjected to evil neo-colonial policies designed to keep us as second-class humans.
You all know we are not a party of godfathers. We have no retired generals in our Board of Trustees, nor do we visit corruption-built mansions to take instructions. Our power has always come from the people. That is why, even when arrests are made, bullets are fired, and tear gas canisters are hurled at us, we stand firm — proving time and again that we are the party that will never betray the people for a pot of porridge.
We have blazed the trail. While some claimed there was “no alternative” to dictatorship, we declared #RevolutionNow. Many of us paid dearly with arrests, assaults, brutality, and detention in dungeons. That attempt to suppress dissent only gave birth to more revolutionaries, as the #EndSARS protest clearly showed.
While others were busy issuing statements, we took to the streets and remained there even after the massacres that occurred across the country. Before then, we had drawn the world’s attention to the hunger ravaging the nation through the Cacerolazo protests — a call that was later amplified during the #EndBadGovernance protests against the so-called removal of fuel subsidies, which only served to enrich a few individuals.
We have never blamed the poor for being hungry. The system was deliberately designed by thieves to enrich themselves. Whenever the foundations of this establishment have been shaken, you will always find the footprints of the AAC.
Take it Back! Action!!
Now, look at what they are doing to secure their loot and the power they have stolen. Security has been privatized — one of the most dangerous developments in Nigeria’s history!
They quote the Constitution, which says the welfare and security of the people shall be the primary responsibility of government. Yet, their primary objective is self-enrichment, not the protection of the people.
This is why they have outsourced that responsibility to private individuals, forcing citizens to provide their own security. The Navy has been sold in the Niger Delta. The protection of our waterways and creeks has been handed over to one individual whose past, even they admit, is questionable. This is not the first time they have ceded national assets without considering the consequences for the people. Bakassi remains a classic example.
It is not only in the creeks. The Police have become an enforcement organ of the ruling class. You only hear “to serve and protect” during official functions. In reality, they are not there to protect the lives and property of ordinary citizens but serve as tools for the highest bidder to oppress the poor and vulnerable.
The same applies to the State Security Service, which has become a vicious attack dog.
None of these deterred our resolve. We continued the fight for oppressed law enforcement officers, especially in the Police. We ensured that officers who had overstayed in the system, including the former IGP, Egbetokun, were retired. We also compelled the Police to carry out the largest promotion exercise in its history — with over 100,000 marginalized officers promoted across different exercises.
But we are not naive. The problem is not just promotions or ending the wicked police pension scheme, nor is it just removing one IGP. The entire security architecture is designed to protect the wealthy and crush the poor. As a party, we will not relent until we demilitarize the police, hold all errant officers accountable, and put rogue security agencies back in their cage.
As we work towards this, we must ask: Why is there so much insecurity? When it suits those in power, the perpetrators are labeled bandits, kidnappers, unknown gunmen, insurgents, or terrorists.
These people did not fall from the sky. They are the bitter fruits of the diseased tree we call a country. The root cause is the monopolization of state resources. When a few people take everything and leave millions of energetic young people without jobs, hope, or a future, they become easy recruits for forces of destruction.
Whether it is violence in the North, agitations in the South, or kidnapping on our highways — often proudly displayed on social media — these are direct consequences of a system that has produced one of the highest levels of inequality on earth.
People now find the AK-47 economy more attractive because their government has made them feel worthless in the real economy, where officials steal billions and go unpunished.
These corporate criminals are our real enemies. They want us to believe they are untouchable oligarchs holding our lives and the economy by the jugular. What we are witnessing is a dangerous shift from state capture to outright private capture, where a few individuals dictate fuel prices, cement prices, and food prices, while keeping the government on its knees.
When a private businessman can hold an entire nation hostage over fuel prices, that is no longer capitalism — it is economic terrorism. Yet the EFCC will never touch such people. The same applies to cement prices that have made housing unaffordable for the poor, while owners smile to the bank announcing massive profits. This pattern repeats in the telecommunications sector, where cartels make billions from citizens while providing terrible service.
In our government, there will be no monopolies. We will break them up and nationalize strategic sectors so that all Nigerians benefit, not just a few families.
Comrades, fellow Nigerians, the economic pain we feel today is a policy choice. Do not be deceived by those who say only God can solve our problems. The cruel decision to remove fuel subsidies without any palliative measures or local refining capacity was a decree handed down from Washington, D.C.
These are copy-and-paste neo-colonial policies sponsored by the IMF and World Bank, whose standard playbook remains: devalue your currency, float the naira, remove subsidies, and increase taxes on the poor.
It is tragic that our so-called leaders in Abuja simply copy and paste these policies while the rest of us bear the suffering. Ironically, the same Bretton Woods institutions that imposed Structural Adjustment Programs in the 1980s — destroying our textile mills, refineries, and middle class — now return to complain about corruption in Nigeria.
The World Bank itself admits that governance failures are sabotaging its loans. Yet it continues to lend billions to an unaccountable government, piling unsustainable debt on the heads of unborn children. We say no to that! We will not pay debts incurred by a corrupt cabal to enrich themselves. We will reject these loans and subject them to a thorough audit.
We are not offering another version of their failed plans. We need a revolution. We must build power from below.
This is why we have always stood with informal workers. Over 90 percent of our workforce operates in the informal sector — from okada riders to market women who are constantly harassed by government-sponsored thugs. They constitute the real backbone of our GDP. All workers deserve the dignity of pensions, health insurance, and freedom from government-sanctioned extortion.
We have also worked with organized labour and jointly resisted attempts to turn workers into slaves through casualization. However, the NLC and TUC must understand that strikes alone are not enough. Revolution is the ultimate solution, and the AAC is leading the way. Why negotiate with a government that does not value you when you can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the AAC?
We have a clear program. We are the only party with a genuinely people-friendly plan. We will reclaim our security by providing jobs, education, and justice. We will invest massively in education, which has been deliberately bastardized to justify outsourcing our development.
We will prosecute those who have looted our commonwealth — whether they wear military medals, governors’ sashes, or clerical robes. They will face a people’s tribunal. The days of looters writing memoirs and throwing birthday parties are over. You steal our future, we steal your freedom. It is that simple.
We are the party of the future. For eight years, we have changed the political landscape — not by buying delegates with dollars, but by raising consciousness, marching, sacrificing, and refusing to be silent.
The road to Aso Rock does not pass through the bedrooms of governors. It passes through the streets, the factories, and the hearts of millions of Nigerians who know this corrupt system offers them only death. Let us walk that road together.
Imagine waking up to 24 hours of electricity. Imagine your homes in cities and towns so safe that you no longer need prison walls you call fences. Imagine a transportation system so efficient that you can travel safely anywhere in Nigeria by road, water, or air. Imagine world-class healthcare so you don’t have to die in India or Egypt. Imagine an education system so free and qualitative that you don’t need to beg to study in Ghana, Togo, or Benin Republic. Imagine food security. Imagine security of lives and property. Imagine employment and opportunities where you don’t need to know anyone to get into school, secure a job, or get an interview.
And the time has now come to fundamentally change the economic philosophy and development model of Nigeria by building an economy powered by sustainability, productivity, and shared prosperity for the people. For too long, the Nigerian economy has functioned like a black hole — designed only to service the greed and gluttony of a tiny elite while millions remain trapped in poverty, unemployment, and hopelessness.
The new economic direction must be people-centered, color-coded, and driven by the specific needs and strengths of our population. The true measure of economic success must no longer be the obscene wealth of a few oligarchs, but the prosperity, dignity, and opportunities available to ordinary Nigerians.
Today, we introduce four people-driven economic models for prosperity.
First is the Orange Economy — designed to empower our entertainment, creative, technology, and sports-driven youth population. Nigeria’s young people are among the most talented in the world, yet many remain unemployed or underpaid. Through the Orange Economy, we will invest massively in music, film, fashion, digital innovation, sports, arts, and culture as engines of employment, wealth creation, and sustainable prosperity.
Second is the Purple Economy — focused on the empowerment and economic liberation of women. Nigerian women sustain homes, farms, markets, and communities despite systemic discrimination and exclusion. The Purple Economy will expand access to finance, education, land ownership, healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship for women, ensuring that they become central drivers of national productivity and growth.
Third is the Blue Economy — built around the enormous potential of our rivers, coastlines, and aquatic resources, particularly in the Niger Delta and other water-rich regions. The Blue Economy will harness waterways for transportation, clean energy, fishing, agriculture, environmental restoration, and industrial development while protecting communities whose lives depend on these ecosystems.
Finally, we embrace the Green Economy — a bold transition away from environmentally destructive systems toward renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, climate-conscious industrialization, and ecological protection. The Green Economy will not only help save our environment but position Nigeria as a leader in the global transition toward a cleaner, more sustainable, and prosperous future.
Today, we declare an end to the failed Black Economy — the corrupt economic order built on greed, avarice, environmental destruction, exploitation, insecurity, and endless theft of public wealth. The future belongs to an economy that serves the people, protects the planet, and guarantees prosperity with dignity for all Nigerians.
Lastly, August has become a historic and defining month in the life of our party, its leadership, and the revolutionary movement for the liberation of Nigeria. It was on August 3rd that I was arrested in Lagos for planning the #RevolutionNow nationwide mass action. Yet, despite arrests, intimidation, and repression, on August 5th, the #RevolutionNow protests erupted across Nigeria, becoming one of the largest waves of resistance witnessed in decades.
It was also in August 2018 that our revolutionary party, the African Action Congress (AAC), was birthed as a platform for the oppressed masses and a vehicle for genuine political transformation. Then came August 2024, another watershed moment in our national history, when Nigerians rose across the country in the #EndBadGovernance uprising against hunger, corruption, insecurity, and state brutality.
History is speaking to us again.
This year, on August 5th, we shall declare a Nationwide State of Resistance against tyranny, oppression, corruption, exploitation, and the destruction of our future. Nigerians must once again rise peacefully, courageously, and collectively to reclaim the country from those who have turned governance into organized cruelty against the people.
Be ready. The struggle continues. Victory is certain.
Just imagine waking up on January 17, 2027, with the AAC leading in all elections as we take this country from glory to glory.
The struggle continues. Victory is certain.
Aluta Continua! Victoria Ascerta!
Thank you, and onward to the New Nigeria!
A speech not written for the comfort of the corrupt elite, but for the awakening of the oppressed masses. A speech about resistance, revolution, justice, dignity, and the birth of a new Nigeria. Source 
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Christianity Etc › Re: Catholic Priest, Gabriel Osu Is Dead by naptu2: 7:09pm On May 27
