The National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rauf Aregbesola, has called on party supporters to ensure that election results are accompanied from polling units to ward collation centres, while other representatives should monitor their movement to local government and state collation centres.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

News reports that Aregbesola made the call on Saturday during the ADC campaign rally at the Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi State, where he represented the party’s National Chairman, Senator David Mark.

The former Minister of Interior urged Nigerians not to leave their polling units immediately after casting their votes, stressing that they must remain until the ballots are counted and the results officially announced and recorded.

Aregbesola also appealed to Nigerians to endure their frustrations over the country’s challenges until January 16, 2027, and channel their grievances into mobilising support for the 2027 general elections to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He, however, cautioned party supporters against allowing their dissatisfaction with the government to lead to violence or actions capable of disrupting public peace.

Speaking at the rally, Aregbesola said, “I bring greetings from the National Chairman. The National Chairman must tell you that you must not be provoked, fight or engage in any violence, or any act that will destroy the peace of our environment.

“However, preserve all your pains, preserve and endure all your frustrations until the 16th of January, 2027.

“On the 16th of January, 2027, the National Chairman said I should tell you that you must massively mobilise for the polling units in your precincts and use your frustrations to vote out APC and vote in ADC.

“When you vote, the National Chairman said I should tell you, you must not leave the polling unit. You must stay at the polling unit until the election is concluded, votes are separated and counted, and the results are announced and recorded.

“After the conclusion of the process, that is, the recording of the results and the announcement of the results, a crew must accompany the results to the ward collation centre. It is only after then that you can go home.”

The ADC national secretary further declared that Nigeria needed a new political direction, describing the country’s situation as requiring deliverance, a fresh start and national rebirth.

He expressed confidence that the party would work towards bringing transformation and meaningful change to the country.

Aregbesola added, “Indeed, Nigeria needs deliverance, Nigeria needs resetting, Nigeria needs a rebirth. And together, we are going to bring back transformation and change to Nigeria, Insha Allah.”

The House of Representatives Committee on University Education has commenced an investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving nine federal universities and other tertiary institutions, demanding explanations from their managements over the utilisation of public funds.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The committee also ordered the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Folasade Ogunsola, to submit the institution’s budget records for 2024, 2025 and 2026 and appear before lawmakers next week over an alleged ₦7.1 billion discrepancy in its financial records.

The committee chairman, Abubakar Fulata, disclosed this on Saturday in a statement issued after an oversight visit to universities and inter-university centres across the South-West.

According to him, the exercise revealed inconsistencies in financial reports, inadequate transparency and possible violations of budgetary regulations in some of the institutions.

Fulata questioned how certain universities arrived at their reported revenue and expenditure figures, particularly where the amounts declared did not tally.

He said, “In some cases, the documents submitted contradict each other. You claimed to have generated N9bn and spent N10bn—where did you get the N1bn from?

“In another instance, you will see N12bn generated as income and only N8bn spent, without any information regarding the whereabouts of the balance of N4bn.”

The lawmaker urged vice-chancellors and their management teams to uphold transparency and accountability, stressing that public universities must properly account for both government allocations and internally generated revenue.

He noted that effective financial management was crucial to improving the quality of university education and ensuring that public funds were spent on approved projects and programmes.

The committee chairman also insisted that preparations for the 2027 general elections would not distract lawmakers from carrying out their constitutional oversight responsibilities.

He said the committee would continue monitoring public institutions to ensure that no sector was neglected because of election-related activities.

The lawmakers also urged university authorities to comply with the federal character principle in staff recruitment and student admissions to promote fairness and equitable representation.

As part of its directives, the committee instructed the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Federal University of Technology, Akure, and Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, to update their financial records and submit comprehensive reports on the implementation of their 2024, 2025 and 2026 budgets.

Ogunsola was reportedly unavailable during the committee’s visit to UNILAG. Officials who represented her were also unable to provide satisfactory explanations for the alleged ₦7.1 billion excess recorded in the institution’s 2024 and 2025 financial records or supply additional details requested by the lawmakers.

Other institutions visited by the committee included the University of Ibadan, Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo, Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies, Iragbiji, Federal University of Technology and Environmental Studies, Iyin-Ekiti, and the Nigeria French Language Village, Badagry.

The committee explained that the exercise was part of the National Assembly’s constitutional responsibility to scrutinise public expenditure, assess budget implementation and ensure that government institutions properly utilise funds allocated to them.

It added that the investigation was aimed at strengthening financial accountability and addressing administrative shortcomings that could undermine the delivery of quality university education.

Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has expressed support for Nigeria’s ambassador to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, describing him as the right person to manage the country’s diplomatic relations with South Africa amid the ongoing controversy over his treatment by the South African authorities.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Sani argued that South Africa needed a representative who could respond appropriately to different situations, depending on the approach adopted by the other party.

The former lawmaker made the remarks in a post shared on his X handle on Sunday.

“Fani Kayode is the best choice for South Africa at this material time. They need someone who can switch to any mode when the occasion demands for it. If you speak diplomacy you get diplomacy, if you speak ‘sakiya’ you get ‘Sakiya’,” he wrote.

His comments come amid rising diplomatic tensions between Nigeria and South Africa following allegations by the Nigerian High Commission and the South African Presidency over the reported exclusion of Nigeria’s ambassador from a livestream of a diplomatic ceremony.

Fani-Kayode had accused the South African Presidency of deliberately leaving Nigeria’s delegation out of the livestream of the presentation of his letter of credence to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday.

The ceremony, which took place in Pretoria, involved 15 ambassadors presenting their letters of credence to the South African leader.

The allegation sparked an exchange of claims between the Nigerian High Commission and the South African Presidency, triggering reactions from Nigerians and South Africans across social media platforms on Saturday.