₦airaland Forum

HE Atiku Abubakar is not doing audio leadership. Today, he and his Vice, HE Rotimi Amaechi, pulled up at a fuel station to see, feel, and hear directly from Nigerians. His mission? Restore fuel subsidy and bring real relief to the masses. If you’ve ever waited in that fuel queue,… pic.twitter.com/a2oDVnY5Wx

— Royalty E. Uso (@royaltyuso) October 3, 2026

They told us to come to school today because @officialABAT and his people were coming to share laptops, money and bags to students.

I didn’t even need laptop.

I just wanted to help my sister get one because she’s about to resume.

So, I got there past 11am for a program that was supposed to start by 10.

Registration here and there. Eventually, the program started around 12.

Few minutes into the program, they announced that the “nominees” for the laptops should get ready.

Nominees

You told us to come and receive laptops. Nobody told us there would be nominees. Nobody told us to submit anything.
Nobody told us we needed a school letterhead explaining why we needed a PC.

So who nominated who

I just looked at my friend and said let’s go.

Later, I called someone who stayed behind to ask what happened.

They shared table water and rice.

TABLE WATER AND RICE. 😭

Now here’s the part that is actually annoying me.

They gave us jotters.
They gave us shirts.
They gave us caps.
They printed all sorts of things.
They spent money branding the whole event.

But the laptops they brought?

From what I could see on that table, it wasn’t even up to 50.

If all this money can be spent on shirts, caps, jotters, banners and all the other things we probably didn’t need.

Why not just buy more laptops

I’m not even saying everybody must get a laptop.

But if you’re going to announce a student laptop distribution program and gather students in school, at least make the actual laptops the main event.

Because how did we go from: “Come and collect laptops”

to “Only nominees should come with a letterhead explaining why they need a laptop”

The vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has charged leaders of the party to go all out in their various states and ensure President Bola Tinubu is not re-elected in the forthcoming presidential election.

He insisted that many of them will be retired from politics if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is re-elected.

Speaking during the ADC National Women League Conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Amaechi cited how the All Progressives Congress, APC, defeated the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the centre in 2015.

He charged the women to go to their states and wards and bring in votes, saying that is the only way ADC will be able to defeat APC.

He said, “If you are not from FCT, go home and campaign. Me, I am going on Wednesday, I will not wear suit, I will dress like a young man. Let me tell you what will happen. We the crop of leaders you see here, if APC wins the 2027 elections, we are retired from politics. So if you don’t want us to retire from politics, we must go home.


“If you bring two thousand votes per ward, don’t win your ward. Just bring two thousand votes, we have won the election. Men are controlled by their wives. Don’t let your husbands sleep, because if we win, you have won. We will not take any election lightly. You will see me in Kebbi, Yola, Rivers, Delta fighting for the governorship elections, because the presidential candidate cannot govern without the governors.”

Amaechi, a former Minister of Transportation, said the APC used women to defeat the PDP.

“When we were in APC and we wanted to remove your government, you saw what we did. We brought out the women. In every state we went to, women were in front. We spoke to them, we met with them at night, and we made sure that we told them that if they did not come out to vote, we would not win. And they came out. We fought the war, and we won.

“That time, Nigeria was not as hungry as it is now. Nigeria could afford some food, right? Now, how many of you can afford the food? How many of you can pay school fees without texting, texting to Dino (Senator Dino Melaye) or somebody else to give you some money for school fees.

“Every week, 10 Nigerians move into poverty. If they tell you how many Nigerians have died, you’ll be shocked. By the time I left government in APC, I’m giving you figures now: 10 and 12 million out-of-school children. Today there are 20 million out-of-school children. That means every day Tinubu is taking 20 million Nigerians, 80 per cent from the North, into poverty.

“If you’re a northerner and you’re sitting here, you shouldn’t even be singing at all. Tinubu is taking you more every day into poverty. The thing you need to do is to take the battle into your hands. If all the women in the North come out to vote, Tinubu cannot announce any result.”


Also speaking, Hajiya Titi Atiku Abubakar told the gathering that the time had come to work for the betterment of Nigeria, charging the women not to be intimidated.

She urged them to go out and convince their friends, neighbours and others to vote for the ADC.

“If you go to the market, you cannot buy anything, even medicine. Yesterday I sent them to buy medicine for me. Medicine that we used to buy for N400 is now N1,000. I couldn’t believe my eyes. So where is the money? And we are in a cashless society, that even all the monies are being taken away.

“People work, the contractors work, they refuse to give them money. Because of ADC, because they don’t want people to support us. We, ADC, don’t have money. Let me tell you, we have to get it by force. We have to get it.

“Most of our children are not in schools because the cost of living is so expensive. So, women, I implore you. Women, I beg you. Don’t let them come and buy you with food. And we have to go to all the corners of this Nigeria, especially to the people in villages,” he said.

PDPdestroyer:
Iwaeda (same person as treesun) see your life outside. Stop scouting the internet for bad news, you won’t hear, now see how you brought disgrace to ya !ine@ge

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS IMMIGRATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT

PUBLIC NOTICE

25 September, 2026

RE: REMOVAL OF NIGERIAN NATIONALS FROM THE REFERRED VISA CATEGORY

The Immigration Department informs the public that citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have been officially removed from the Referred Visa Category, following published amendments in the Government Gazette number 246 of 2026.

With immediate effect, Nigerian nationals traveling to the United Republic of Tanzania are no longer subject to referred visa restrictions and will follow standard visa application procedures through the official it migration online portal or designated entry points.

Issued by: ACI. Paul J. Mselle
Chief Spokesperson of Tanzania Immigration Services Department

The African Democratic Congress has dismissed the APC’s claim that it received ADC House of Assembly candidates from Jigawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara States as wishful thinking and a figment of the APC’s imagination.

In a statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, the party said the individuals being paraded are not ADC candidates, or leaders.

“The APC cannot assemble random individuals at its secretariat, confer imaginary ADC credentials on them and then announce their defection. While the APC Chairman is welcome to receive visitors, he should stop introducing them to Nigerians as people they are not. These people are not our candidates ”

The party also mocked the claim that the supposed defectors were attracted by the administration’s “remarkable transformation” of Northern Nigeria.

“Having invented ADC credentials for its guests, the APC has supplied an equally imaginative account of its performance over the past few years. The APC should explain how these fake photo-ops bring down food prices, protect Nigeria’s communities or help struggling families pay their bills. Nigerians are asking for evidence of better lives; the APC is manufacturing photographs and congratulating itself.”

The ADC challenged the APC to substantiate the credentials it had assigned to the fake individuals that it paraded as ADC members.

“The APC should state the ADC offices these individuals supposedly held, the constituencies they represented as our candidates and when they held those positions. The APC should enjoy its photographs and spare Nigerians this unnecessary fiction.”

SIGNED:

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi
National Publicity Secretary
African Democratic Congress (ADC)

The presidential candidate of the opposition Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso appear to have divergent views on some issues ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Obi and Kwankwaso hold different views on fuel subsidy removal and establishment of state police.

Daily Trust reports that Obi supports the removal of the subsidy but believes it should have been removed in a structured and phased manner, noting that the alleged mismanagement of subsidy savings should not have been an excuse for restoring it.

Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, recently, Obi maintained that he did not support a return to the fuel subsidy era.

“I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove the subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds shouldn’t be the reason for not removing it. What we should have done is that when we remove subsidy, we would have given the people an alternative usage for the subsidy. What we have today is that the removal and attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” Obi had said.

But Kwankwaso said he supported the reintroduction of the subsidy in a modified form.

In a TV interview on Tuesday, the NDC vice-presidential candidate stated that an Obi-led government would bring back subsidy “in our own way.”

Asked whether it would be difficult for the NDC to campaign in the North-West, where there is support for the return of subsidy, Kwankwaso said, “No, no, no, look. We are bringing subsidy in our own way.”

“Of course, there are many ways. One, I can tell you: now we have a refinery built by a businessman, and I’m sure more refineries would be built.

“Now, if individuals in this country could build refineries, I see no reason why the government, under certain circumstances, will not build a refinery or refineries to the extent that we achieve the minimum requirement.

“What is the minimum requirement? The minimum requirement is for the people across the country to go to the filling stations and buy fuel at a reasonable price.

“We, in the NDC, will do whatever it takes, really, to put the price of oil down,” he said.

The position of the NDC presidential candidate and his running mate also differed on state police.

Obi had in a statement on his X handle, commended the State Police Bill, saying it represents a major legislative milestone in Nigeria’s quest to reform its policing architecture, but disagreed with the manner in which the legislation was processed.

He said the absence of broad public consultation and the speed with which the legislation was passed had created widespread suspicion about the motives behind the initiative.

Obi said, “The recent passage of the State Police Bill by the National Assembly marks a significant legislative milestone in addressing a long-standing demand of the Nigerian people.

Also, in an interview with Arise Television, Obi, when asked if he believes in state police, retorted: ‘’Yes I believe in state police. We will do whatever it takes to secure the country.”

But the NDC vice-presidential candidate, in the Tuesday interview, rejected the creation of state police in Nigeria saying the increasing calls for it were due to the inability of the current federal policing system to effectively tackle the country’s security challenges.

Kwankwaso insisted that the idea of state police emerged because of what he described as the failure of the federal or national police to effectively deal with insecurity.

He said, “I have always been against state police, and I can tell you the issue of state police came because of the failure of the federal or national police. I think it’s one of the big mistakes that government is doing.

NDC, OK Movement rift

Also, the brewing tension between the hierarchy of the NDC and grassroots volunteers under the auspices of the Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement has spilled into the open after the executive leadership of the party disowned a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) unveiled by the movement.

The move marks the first major public battle over political supremacy, organisational control and strategy between the party platform and the high-profile support group backing the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket.

Analysts describe the disagreement within the party over the structure of its campaign machinery as “untimely” and warned the crisis could have wider implications for the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The crisis escalated when the OK Movement, through its National Secretary Saadatu Sani, announced the formation of an independent campaign machinery led by the movement’s National Director-General, John Ughulu, as Director-General of the PCC. The announcement was swiftly rebuffed by the party hierarchy.

In a counter-statement titled “Re: Purported OK Movement PCC Announcement,” the NDC National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses, officially disavowed the movement’s setup, insisting that no campaign structure could be unveiled without formal approval from the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

Adding weight to the party’s stance, the NDC National Leader Senator Seriake Dickson cautioned support groups against setting up alternative organs that compete with official structures.

While acknowledging the importance of support groups in grassroots mobilisation, Dickson insisted that all campaign activities must be channeled through formal party machinery.

“Support groups should work with the political party and its campaign structures rather than compete with them during the electioneering process,” Dickson noted, reiterating that party supremacy remains non-negotiable.

Why NDC, OK Movement are at loggerheads

Behind the public statements lies a fundamental conflict between traditional party governance and organic political mobilisation.

Party insiders revealed that the NDC leaders fear being sidelined by the support group’s assertive structure.

An NDC chieftain, who spoke on condition of anonymity, outlined the core conflict.

“The friction rests on organizational independence versus party supremacy. The OK Movement maintains it is a volunteer-driven force that will not be absorbed or subordinated into the NDC machinery. Conversely, the NDC views political authority through constitutional structures. Allowing parallel campaign councils creates competing power centers that undermine party discipline,” the source said.

The feud is further complicated by leadership disputes around Ughulu. While state and ward coordinators of the OK Movement have threatened mass withdrawal if Ughulu is removed, NDC leaders have resisted his authority, citing unresolved disciplinary proceedings over past primary disputes in Lagos.

Campaign council list ‘nonsensical’ – Dickson

The NDC national leader, Dickson, also criticised the OK Movement over the controversy surrounding the 59-member presidential campaign council list, describing the group’s actions as “nonsensical.”

Dickson addressed the issue on Tuesday following a meeting of NDC stakeholders in Abuja, where Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), officially joined the party.

Rejecting the movement’s stance, Dickson emphasised that support groups must understand their boundaries and avoid attempting to rival the party apparatus.

“Support groups don’t compete with the political party that is sponsoring candidates. Support groups don’t compete for supremacy and space. They provide grassroots support and mobilisation. They don’t convert themselves to become critics of the political party sponsored. They don’t attack the political party sponsored,” he said.

Dickson noted that while support groups exist across all political platforms, including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), none had attempted to usurp party functions.

“None of them will dare say they are setting up a presidential campaign council. It is unheard of. Nonsensical. And those who had a duty to educate and call people to order should do so,” he added.

Despite the reprimand, the NDC leader affirmed that the party recognises the value of grassroot support groups and remains open to collaborating with them, noting that he has previously held constructive meetings with Obedient groups.

Movement declares independence from party

Refusing to back down, Ughulu, in a statement on Wednesday, asserted that the movement remains an autonomous entity that will neither merge into the NDC nor surrender its nationwide structures.

“The OK Movement is an independent political organisation, not a support group created as an appendage of any political party. Its existence and internal administration are not subject to the internal management of the NDC. Political cooperation between the OK Movement and the NDC should be understood as collaboration rather than organizational subordination,” Ughulu declared.

Atiku Abubakar has criticised rising Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements, arguing that higher nominal allocations have been eroded by naira depreciation, inflation and debt.

Agora Policy data showed allocations rose 322% to ₦18.72 trillion in H1 2026 from ₦4.43 trillion in H1 2021. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s headline inflation eased marginally to 15.39% in August from 15.43% in July, while food inflation fell to 19.57%. The National Bureau of Statistics attributed the slowdown to declining prices of several food items, although significant regional differences persist.

The clash between the Tinubu administration and Atiku Abubakar over Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements points to a wider pattern that political actors, investors and policy analysts should track closely. It is the gap between nominal and real economic indicators.

The headline figures are striking. FAAC disbursements climbed by roughly 332% in naira terms between the first half of 2021 and the first half of 2026. They rose from about ₦4.43 trillion to ₦18.72 trillion. Adjust for naira devaluation, though, and that growth shrinks to a far more modest gain. It is estimated at around 33% in dollar terms at the prevailing official exchange rate.

This divergence sits at the heart of the political contest. It deserves treatment as a matter of measurement discipline, not partisan spin alone.

The Federal Government has no immediate plan to increase electricity tariffs, Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, said on Monday, dismissing rumours of an impending hike in electricity rates across the country.

Tegbe, who spoke in Abuja while presenting his scorecard for his first 100 days in office, said electricity generation and transmission had exceeded 5,000 megawatts (MW) in recent weeks, compared with between 3,700MW and 4,700MW before June 2026.

He disclosed that the sector recorded a generation peak of 5,330MW in August and September, following interventions to restore power infrastructure and improve the performance of existing assets.

The Minister, however, acknowledged that the improvements had yet to translate into reliable electricity supply for many Nigerians, saying the immediate task was to sustain the gains and extend them to more communities.

Speaking on his performance between June 8 and September 16, 2026, Tegbe said the administration had focused on stabilising the electricity value chain, restoring market discipline and strengthening governance.

He said: “Operational record reports show generation and transmission above 5,000MW over the past couple of weeks, compared to the 3,700 to 4,700MW range before June, and a generation peak of 5,330MW during August and September.

“Our next task is to sustain these gains and translate them into more dependable supply at customer level.”

The Minister said the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant, which had been offline for three years, was restored to the national grid during the period.

He also disclosed that the commissioning of new transformers at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos had unlocked 672MW of transmission capacity.

Similarly, a new 300-megavolt-ampere (MVA) transformer energised at Katampe, Abuja, unlocked an additional 240MW of transmission capacity.

According to him, the interventions were aimed at recovering stranded capacity and strengthening electricity delivery to major centres of demand.

Tegbe said the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had also secured the release of more than 300 containers of critical power equipment held up at the ports.

He said the equipment would be inspected, deployed and installed to support ongoing transmission infrastructure upgrades.

On electricity access, the minister said 62 solar and mini-grid installations had been completed across 30 states, providing about 43.6MW of installed solar capacity and 41,735 new connections.

The projects, he said, had an estimated beneficiary reach of more than 208,000 people.

He listed initiatives under the Rural Electrification Agency, including the 3MW solar hybrid system recently commissioned at Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja, as part of efforts to provide more dependable electricity to educational institutions.

Other projects include a 20MW off-grid initiative in Kogi State, a 3.5MW solar project in Kebbi State, a 5.5MW mini-grid in Epe, Lagos, and 39 mini-grids in Adamawa State designed to provide nearly 27MW of electricity.

The Minister said the Renewable Asset Management Company (RAMCO) would manage publicly financed renewable energy infrastructure and mobilise N3 trillion over the coming years.

On the financial health of the sector, Tegbe said the government had raised an estimated N1.23 trillion towards settling outstanding power-sector debts as part of a broader programme to address N3.3 trillion in liabilities.

He said the initiative was expected to improve liquidity across the electricity value chain and strengthen operators’ capacity to maintain infrastructure and meet their obligations.

The Minister also disclosed that the government had blocked revenue leakages associated with energy theft and other losses along the Ikorodu-Sagamu industrial corridor, estimated at approximately N120 billion annually.

He said improved billing, collection and remittance would help preserve resources needed to sustain electricity supply.

On metering, Tegbe said approximately 350,000 meters were installed during his first 100 days in office, bringing cumulative installations to 1,004,260 as of August 2026.

He added that the resolution of the AMMON litigation had unlocked the procurement of about 1.4 million smart meters across affected programmes.

The Minister said metering of military formations was also progressing, with 90,000 installations recorded, while 5,000 young Nigerians were undergoing training as smart-meter installers under the Power Force programme.

Tegbe reiterated that the government had no immediate plan to increase electricity tariffs.

He said the next phase of the reform programme would focus on stabilising key transmission corridors, including Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano, while advancing the proposed Transmission Super Grid.

The Minister said technical audits had commenced along the Lagos and Abuja corridors to identify weak points and guide investments towards interventions with measurable system impact.

He added that the government would also pursue bilateral arrangements between generation and distribution companies to improve capacity utilisation and payment certainty.

On future investments, Tegbe said engagements with Chinese companies had secured commitments to accelerate priority power projects, including the 1.9-gigawatt Presidential Power Initiative, with the first transmission lines scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2027.

He said the government would continue efforts to strengthen grid protection and control systems, improve gas availability to power plants, and address vandalism and electricity theft.

Acknowledging that the national generation peak did not necessarily reflect the electricity experience of every community, Tegbe said the government would measure progress through supply reliability, billing accuracy, and the resolution of faults and complaints.

He said the government would work over the next six months to translate the repairs and reforms into more visible improvements in electricity supply.

TINUBU’S THIRD STRAIGHT UNGA ABSENCE: NIGERIA MUST NOT PAY FOR HIS AMERICAN BAGGAGE — ATIKU
Atiku Abubakar
@atiku
·
A seat was reportedly secured for Bola near United States President Donald Trump at the world’s most important annual diplomatic gathering. Yet, for the third consecutive year, Tinubu refused to occupy it.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded a full explanation from President Tinubu over his repeated absence from the United Nations General Assembly, asking whether the President’s documented history with United States law-enforcement agencies has become a burden on Nigeria’s foreign relations.

In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Tinubu stayed away from the 79th UNGA session in 2024, the 80th in 2025 and now the 81st in 2026, repeatedly sending Vice President Kashim Shettima to stand in for him.
He said three consecutive absences could no longer be dismissed as coincidence or routine delegation but constituted a pattern of presidential evasion requiring an honest explanation.

“The United Nations General Assembly is one of the world’s most important diplomatic gatherings. It brings together the representatives of the UN’s 193 member states and provides a unique platform for presidents and prime ministers to defend their countries’ interests, negotiate partnerships and shape global decisions on trade, security and development,” Atiku said.

“Vice President Shettima may represent Nigeria capably, but representation by delegation cannot permanently substitute for the personal authority, visibility and responsibility of the President.
“Tinubu cannot continue to treat Nigeria’s seat at the world’s biggest diplomatic table as though it were an inconvenient appointment that can be endlessly outsourced.

“Presidential absence on the global stage has consequences. UNGA is not merely a ceremonial gathering or an annual photo opportunity. Its sidelines are where leaders hold decisive bilateral meetings, court investors, negotiate trade partnerships, mobilise development finance and make the case for their countries.

“When a President makes himself absent from that stage for three consecutive years, his country loses opportunities. Investment does not follow silence. International capital does not pursue a country whose leader repeatedly abandons the room in which consequential economic relationships are being built.

“The cost is eventually transferred to ordinary citizens: fewer investments mean fewer businesses and fewer jobs. Reduced capital inflows place additional pressure on the local currency. A weaker naira raises the cost of imports, production, transportation and food. These are among the economic pressures now punishing Nigerian families through the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory.

“Tinubu may consider attending UNGA a matter of personal prerogative, but the economic and diplomatic consequences of his absence are being paid by Nigerians. A President may surrender his seat, but a nation cannot escape the bill.”

Atiku described as extraordinary the reported announcement by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, that he had secured Tinubu a seat “not too far from where the US President, Donald Trump, will be seated.”

“The seat was secured, but the President disappeared,” Atiku said.
“If proximity to President Trump was considered such a diplomatic achievement, why did Tinubu abandon the opportunity and send his deputy? Why celebrate securing a strategic seat for the President when the President had no intention of occupying it?

“That contradiction becomes even more scandalous when Nigerians remember that Tinubu’s administration committed up to $9 million of Nigeria’s scarce foreign exchange to American lobbyists supposedly hired to improve its standing before the government and people of the United States.

“What exactly did Nigerians purchase with that money? Why spend millions of dollars lobbying Washington while Tinubu repeatedly stays away from New York? Why hire lobbyists to speak for Nigeria in America when the Nigerian President cannot summon the courage to appear at the world’s biggest diplomatic gathering on American soil?

“Did the lobbyists fail, or is Tinubu’s American baggage simply too heavy for any public-relations firm to carry?”

Atiku said the President’s persistent avoidance of the United States inevitably invites troubling questions.

*“Is Tinubu afraid that he could become Donald Trump’s next Nicolás Maduro* ?

“Is he haunted by the controversies surrounding his American academic claims and his documented drug-related forfeiture history?

“Is this the kind of President Nigeria deserves — one who projects bravado at home but appears terrified of scrutiny abroad?”

Atiku said these questions were legitimate because of Case No. 93 C 4483 before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in which the United States government instituted forfeiture proceedings concerning funds held in multiple accounts in the name of Bola Tinubu and associated companies.

He noted that the verified complaint was brought under federal laws governing the forfeiture of assets that were connected to narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

“The complaint stated that the funds represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking and money laundering,” Atiku said.

“A supporting sworn affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service criminal-investigation agent similarly stated that funds in accounts controlled by Bola Tinubu were connected to drug-trafficking proceeds. The proceedings eventually resulted in the forfeiture of approximately $460,000 to the United States government.”

“Nigerians are therefore entitled to ask whether Tinubu’s three consecutive UNGA absences have anything to do with this documented American history.

“We are not asserting that Tinubu is legally prohibited from entering the United States. The Presidency has announced no such restriction. But if no legal, diplomatic, medical or personal impediment exists, why has Tinubu repeatedly avoided the UNGA since 2024?

“Is he afraid of renewed scrutiny? Is he uncomfortable appearing on American soil amid continuing public interest in the narcotics drug related forfeiture proceedings? Has one man’s personal history become a burden on Nigeria’s diplomatic engagement?”

Atiku said Tinubu’s conduct presented a glaring contrast between the image he cultivated at home and the timidity he displayed on the international stage.

“So why is Tinubu eternally paranoid about the global podium, especially when that podium stands in the United States?

“Here is a President who professes tigritude at home, draped in an assortment of aliases, including ‘Jagaban,’ the leader of warriors in the Borgu Emirate, and ‘Asiwaju,’ the one who supposedly leads from the front, but who becomes a whimpering, lily-livered and timid chicken on the global stage.

“Nigeria’s foreign standing has never been more miniaturised. Under Tinubu, the country rarely features prominently in continental leadership, the Commonwealth or world affairs.

“His government deployed Nigerian fighter jets and troops to Benin Republic following the December 2025 attempted coup while bandits, terrorists and freelance criminals continued to terrorise Nigerians at home.
“Nigeria could project military power across its border, yet its President could not project Nigeria’s voice from its seat at the United Nations. That contradiction is humiliating.”

Atiku demanded that the Presidency state unequivocally whether Tinubu was free to travel to the United States and disclose the real reason for his third consecutive UNGA absence.

“If there is no impediment, the Presidency must explain this serial absenteeism. If an impediment exists, Nigerians have a right to know,” he said.

“Nigeria is bigger than Bola. Our diplomatic influence, economic interests and international reputation must not be subordinated to Tinubu’s American baggage.

“After committing up to $9 million to American lobbyists, Nigerians deserve more than silence, evasions and another empty presidential seat at the United Nations.

“Is this the kind of President Nigeria deserves?
“Mr Bola, your seat was reportedly secured near President Donald Trump. Why did you refuse to occupy it?

“What exactly are you afraid of in America?”