Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has departed for Abuja ahead of the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2027 Presidential Campaign Council.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

A video circulating on X on Wednesday showed the governor walking alongside members of his protocol team towards a private jet expected to transport him to the Federal Capital Territory.

The inauguration of President Bola Tinubu’s presidential campaign council is scheduled to hold at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The event is expected to formally commence the council’s activities as the ruling party intensifies preparations for the 2027 general election.

Meanwhile, the APC has clarified its alliance with Adeleke for Tinubu’s re-election campaign.

Adeleke was appointed as a coordinator of Tinubu’s presidential campaign in Osun State, despite the APC’s existing political structure and its recent electoral contest against the governor’s party.

His appointment places him among those expected to coordinate mobilisation and efforts to secure support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking on TVC News’ Beyond the Headlines, APC National Secretary and Deputy Secretary of the Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, said the alliance with Adeleke would not require the party to abandon its candidates in other elections.

According to Bashiru, the arrangement is specifically intended to secure Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election.

“Our agreement, our understanding is for us to work together for the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Then let us contest the space among the electorate for our candidates at other levels,” Bashiru said.

He explained that the agreement would not compel APC members to support Accord Party candidates contesting for seats in the Senate, House of Representatives or Osun State House of Assembly.

Bashiru acknowledged that he had campaigned against Adeleke during the governorship election but maintained that their political differences would not prevent them from working together for Tinubu’s re-election.

He said he had communicated his position during a visit to the governor, stressing that the outcome of an election must ultimately be respected.

The APC chieftain also dismissed suggestions that Adeleke’s appointment would automatically place the party’s entire political structure in Osun State under the governor’s control.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautioned Nigeria against restoring petrol subsidies, arguing that the government can better support struggling households through direct financial assistance and reduced costs of essential services.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The global financial institution warned that keeping petrol prices artificially low would place additional pressure on public finances, while wealthier consumers could benefit more from the arrangement than low-income households.

The Director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, Rodrigo Valdés, gave the advice on Wednesday during a briefing on the fund’s Fiscal Monitor at the 2026 annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand.

Valdés was responding to concerns about the impact of rising energy prices on Nigerians, particularly the increase in transport fares, inflation and the overall cost of living.

The debate over petrol subsidy has continued in Nigeria, with calls for its restoration ahead of the 2027 general election as households and motorists grapple with high fuel prices.

The IMF official maintained that protecting citizens from rising energy costs should not mean keeping fuel prices artificially low for all consumers.

“Protecting people is not the same as protecting the price of fuels,” he said.

According to Valdés, fuel subsidies and other measures that prevent energy prices from reflecting supply shortages cost countries between one and 1.5 per cent of their gross domestic product in 2026.

He argued that such expenditure was difficult to sustain, particularly as governments faced increasing borrowing costs.

“It’s first fiscally very costly, and second, if you look at the pattern of consumption, it’s easy to see that that subsidy is readily regressive in many places,” Valdés stated.

He urged the Nigerian government to rely on household data and social protection programmes to identify and assist people who genuinely need support, rather than subsidising petrol for everyone.

“There are better tools to deal with this,” he added.

The IMF’s position comes days after President Bola Tinubu’s administration announced a 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) retail stations to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices.

The initiative prioritises public transport operators, with the aim of limiting the effect of petrol costs on transport fares and other household expenses.

Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele explained that NNPC retail outlets would sell petrol at cost by surrendering their retail profit margins.

He described the initiative as temporary relief for consumers rather than a return to the petrol subsidy regime.

The government also proposed negotiating a ceiling of ₦1,350 per litre on petrol’s ex-gantry or landing cost, subject to monthly reviews.

Meanwhile, the IMF called on governments to explore alternative measures to protect vulnerable households from rising fuel prices without introducing blanket subsidies.

Davide Furceri, a division chief in the fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department, said funds used for general fuel subsidies could instead be channelled towards people most affected by rising living costs.

He suggested that governments could subsidise public transport fares to prevent higher petrol prices from making daily journeys unaffordable.

“For example, you mentioned transportation costs. Yeah, gasoline could go up, and perhaps bus fees may be subsidised in a way that is a much better policy at the end of the day than just a blanket subsidy for everybody,” Furceri said.

He also identified school feeding programmes, assistance for vulnerable farmers and targeted support for people in affected areas as possible ways to ease the burden on households.

Furceri acknowledged that some countries lacked reliable household records and digital payment systems needed to identify beneficiaries and distribute financial assistance effectively.

However, he said governments could adopt alternative arrangements in the short term while developing more efficient systems for delivering support.

He stressed that any intervention should be temporary and targeted at those who needed it most.

Valdés also warned that keeping fuel prices below market levels could increase pressure on global energy supplies.

He explained that subsidised petrol reduces consumers’ incentives to cut consumption, even when fuel supplies are limited.

As a result, the market is forced to make a larger adjustment, potentially driving prices higher.

“When you subsidise, you don’t allow, at the end of the day, demand to adjust,” he said.

“And reality is that we have less fuels in the world economy. That means that someone else has to adjust more, and the market produces a higher price for that.”

The IMF reiterated that broad fuel subsidies were expensive, often disproportionately benefited higher-income consumers and could create additional pressure on the wider global economy.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of Samaila Kaigama, an alleged ransom negotiator for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending his trial on terrorism-related charges.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Justice Ibrahim Salim issued the order on Tuesday after Kaigama pleaded not guilty to seven amended charges filed against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The judge fixed November 13 for the commencement of trial and directed that the defendant remain in custody until his bail application is heard.

The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Oyedepo Rotimi, led the prosecution team, while Chris Abengowe appeared for the defendant.

During the proceedings, Rotimi urged the court to remand Kaigama at the Kuje facility and ensure an accelerated hearing of the case.

However, Abengowe’s attempt to move his client’s bail application was unsuccessful because the application was based on charges that had already been struck out.

Rotimi also informed the court that the prosecution would file a counter-affidavit opposing the bail application.

In the amended charge, the prosecution accused Kaigama of supporting the activities of Boko Haram and ISWAP by maintaining unauthorised contact with members of the groups and negotiating ransom payments.

He was also accused of collecting ransom from families of kidnapped victims despite allegedly having reasonable grounds to believe that the money would be used to finance terrorism.

Another count accused him of withholding information about the activities of Boko Haram and ISWAP that could have assisted security agencies in arresting and prosecuting members of the groups.

The prosecution further alleged that Kaigama solicited and mobilised financial contributions from relatives of hostages before transferring the funds to the terrorists.

According to the charge, the defendant allegedly used a WhatsApp group known as BOSYA, alongside Facebook, to demand ransom payments from victims’ families, resulting in a loss of more than ₦1.8 million.

Kaigama was also accused of inciting protests against Senator Ali Ndume and the Borno State Government.

Part of the charge alleged that he mobilised members of affected communities in July 2026 to organise protests against the senator and the state government, an act the prosecution said amounted to incitement to public disorder.

The charge read in part: “That you, Samaila Ibrahim Kaigama, adult male of FCT Abuja, on or about July 2026, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did mobilise members of the affected communities to stage protests against Senator Ali Ndume and the Borno State Government, thereby inciting public disorder, contrary to and punishable under Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38 LFN 2004.”