Spotlights
‘Bayelsa is not Rivers State’ – Diri fires warning to Tinubu, Wike
A significant crisis is emerging in Bayelsa State due to the actions of the state governor, Douye Diri, who seeks to prevent a large rally organized by the New Associates.
This group comprises supporters of Nyesom Wike, a former governor of Rivers State and the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The rally aims to galvanize support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as well as for Wike.
The NEW Associates stated that the event would serve as a platform to formally inaugurate the organization in Bayelsa and to introduce its officials. …Continue Reading.
The acronym, NEW, represents the first letters of the minister’s name, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike and was formed by his supporters across the country in preparation for the 2027 election.
While NEW Associates’ parent body is in Rivers State, the group was making efforts to establish structures in other states of the federation.
The Bayelsa State chapter of the NEW Associates is being coordinated by George Turner, who recently emerged the Southsouth Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but immediately fell out with Diri for associating with Wike.
According to the flier released by the organisers, the mega rally is scheduled to hold on April 12 and would begin from Tombia Roundabout to Oxbow Lake where the structures of the NEW Associates would be inaugurated.
The organisers asked all lovers of truth and good leadership to come out en-masse to celebrate Wike for being a man of truth, honesty, bluntness and good leadership.
There was no part in the flier that suggested that Wike would either attend the event or send a representative.
One of the organisers and former spokesman of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Ebilade Ekerefe, said that the group had been activated in Bayelsa to galvanise support for President Tinubu in the rural communities.
Ekerefe said Wike had been a good leader who deserved to be celebrated for his honesty, bluntness, and good leadership.
He said as the country moved gradually towards the 2027 election, there was a need to mobilise Southsouth youths to support the President.
He explained that the group was created by Wike to be used as a mobilisation platform for the President’s re-election.
Ekerefe said part of the strategies to be adopted by the group was to showcase projects the President Tinubu’s administration initiated in the Southsouth geo-political zone.
He said the goal was to ensure the people of Southsouth were enlightened on the achievements of the current administration of President Tinubu and support his re-election.
He said: ‘’The New Associates is a grassroots-based political movement set in motion by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to mobilise grassroots support across the states of the South- South geo-political zone for the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in office come 2027.”
But the proposed event raised political dust in Bayelsa as Governor Diri and his arm of the PDP roundly criticised it and embarked on a mission to stop it.
Diri was said to have immediately convened a security meeting and accused George Turnah of forming an alliance with Wike to destabilise the PDP and Bayelsa.
Diri also raised the alarm that the event was a security threat designed with the motive to extend the ongoing crisis in Rivers to Bayelsa.
It was also gathered that Governor Diri met with the traditional rulers in Ogbia, the Local Government Area of Turnah and asked them to call their son to order.
Diri insinuated that Wike would attend the event and vowed that he would not release any public facility in the state for the planned mega rally.
The governor described Turner as a suspended member of the PDP alleging that he was recruited to create a faction in the party in the state.
He said: “Any attempt to import the Rivers State political crisis into Bayelsa will be resisted. I urge security commanders in the state to be on the alert. Parents and traditional rulers should discourage their wards and children from being used by unscrupulous elements to cause trouble in the state.”
Diri insisted that the peaceful disposition of the Ijaws should not be misconstrued for cowardice and said his government would not allow the group to foment trouble in Bayelsa, which is the homeland of all Ijaw people.
He said: “As you are aware, we have threats from our sister state. The political crisis there is threatening us and we will not allow what is happening there to come into Bayelsa State.
“We had in our party a renegade, who has decided to form a parallel PDP in Bayelsa State, working with an ex-governor, Nyesom Wike.
“The party in our state suspended him for gross misconduct and for now he is not a member of our party in Bayelsa State. He was a part of the kangaroo PDP South South zonal congress that was rejected by the National Working Committee of our party and he is threatening the peace of this state.
“This is not Rivers State. Bayelsa is the cradle of every Ijaw man. I have always said that being peaceful is not cowardice. We are very courageous and we can stand up for the truth at all times.
“Every public facility owned by the Bayelsa State government cannot be used except with the express approval of the state government.”
But Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, described the alarm raised by Diri as shamefully baseless, saying it was a cover-up for his failures.
He counselled Diri to face the serious business of governance and stop raising baseless security alarm on a mega rally in support of the minister.
He said: “It is so unfortunate that a Governor with all the security apparatus available to him could go on national television on mere suspicion of people planning a rally, which is their right to hold.”
Olayinka insisted that Nigerians were free to express their support for anyone, anywhere and anytime, asking: “Is this how much the governor is afraid of Wike? Can the governor stop people from holding rallies in the state if they want to?”
Olayinka said if the FCT Minister was going to attend any political rally in Bayelsa State or anywhere, he would inform security agencies by himself and his involvement would be seen because “he is not afraid of anything.”
He said it was ridiculous that a governor had to call Security Council and Bayelsa Elders Council meetings to discuss issue of suspicion of people planning a rally for Wike, asking: “Is this how childish governance in Bayelsa State has become? Must he use Wike as cover up for his failure in governance and politics?”
Olayinka said it was funny that Governor Diri did not remember that Bayelsa was not Rivers State or FCT, when he was running after Wike, seeking support for his reelection.
He said: “When he was seeking reelection, this same Diri was brought to Wike, like a thief in the night. He was brought by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Lokpobiri. David Lyon came with him then.
“As he was kneeling down, begging Wike to support him, he (Wike) was telling him, ‘No, don’t do that, you’re a governor, don’t do that.’
“Shamefully, the same Wike has now become someone he goes about disparaging, just to cover up his inadequacies. So obvious that some people don’t have conscience and it’s unfortunate.”
Also, George Turnah, told Diri that there was no intention to cause crisis in the state insisting that the rally must go on.
Turnah dismissed the security concerns raised by Diri describing it as baseless and defended his association with Wike, saying “there is a right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in Nigeria”.
Turnah in a statement by his Media Assistant, Kelvin Loveday, expressed disappointment over Diri’s outburst, insisting that there was no intention to destabilise Bayelsa.
He assured the Ijaw nation of his respect, loyalty, and commitment as an Ijaw man, stressing that his political group was only interested in mobilising support for President Tinubu’s administration in the Southsouth Zone without ulterior motives.
He explained that the New Associates would be officially launched in Bayelsa on April 12, 2025, adding that arrangements had been concluded to ensure a hitch-free outing, including formal notifications to relevant security organizations in the state as required by law.
Turnah kicked against the undue politicalisation of the proposed rally, maintaining that ethnicity had no place in politics.
On his election as the PDP Zonal Secretary, he queried why it was problematic if he occupied a position meant for a son of the soil of Bayelsa or Ijaw, wondering if he was not qualified to do so.
Turnah reminded Diri that the Ogbia leaders and elders he asked to call him to order were the same leaders who, in 2019, requested that he should not support the governor’s ambition at the time, a request he respectfully ignored.
“I am not only a member of the PDP but also a serving Zonal Secretary of the Party in the Southsouth. I don’t know another office the governor is accusing me of occupying if I am truly not a member of the PDP”, he said.
He further expressed surprise at Diri’s anger over his association with Wike, adding that he had the constitutional right to freedom of association.
Turnah commended Diri on his many achievements and pledged his continued support for the prosperity administration led by the governor.
He called on the teeming youths, women, political class across party lines and all lovers of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to come out en-masse, and show their appreciation to the President and FCT Minister for their special love for the Bayelsa State and Ijaw nation.
He said the love was clearly demonstrated through the facilitation and appointment of notable Bayelsans into positions of trust in the renewed hope administration.
President Donald Trump is once again referencing his wish to be “heaven-bound”
Speaking to press aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Oct. 12, the president, 79, answered a question about his August statements regarding his attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine — during which he said, “If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s pretty — I want to try to get to heaven if possible.”
“I’m being a little cute,” Trump told reporters on Sunday about his previous comments, before quipping, “I don’t think there’s anything going to get me in heaven.”
“I really don’t. I think I’m not maybe heaven-bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One,” he continued. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make heaven, but I’ve made life a lot better for a lot of people.”
Trump went on to tell the press that “had the election of 2020 not been rigged,” he could have prevented Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine.
“We had an incompetent administration. We had an incompetent president. And because of a crooked election, millions of people are dead,” Trump said, referring to former President Joe Biden. “And by the way, the Israeli thing was much harder to get settled because of the past administration.”
During a phone interview with Fox & Friends on Aug. 19, the president gave a new explanation for taking action to end the war in Ukraine — including positioning himself as a mediator between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s pretty — I want to try to get to heaven if possible,” Trump said at the time.
“I’m hearing that I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole,” he added, to laughter from the Fox News hosts. “But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”
Last month, Trump referenced his goal to “get into heaven” again when his campaign sent out emails asking for donations that read, “I want to try and get to Heaven.”
The recent emails — which reportedly began on Aug. 23 — requested supporters to donate $15 during a “24-HOUR TRUMP FUNDRAISING BLITZ” to the president, the Independent, Snopes and Newsweek reported. The new emails’ subject line includes, “I want to try and get to Heaven,” per the outlets.
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“Last year, I came millimeters from death when that bullet pierced through my skin. My triumphant return to the White House was never supposed to happen!” the email says in reference to the July 2024 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pa.
“But I believe that God saved me for one reason: TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” the message says, according to the Independent. “I certainly wasn’t supposed to survive an assassin’s bullet, but by the grace of the almighty God, I did. SO NOW, I have no other choice but to answer the Call to Duty, but I can’t do it alone.”
During a briefing that same day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that she didn’t believe Trump was joking.
“I think the president was serious,” she said. “I think the president wants to get to heaven — as I hope we all do in this room as well.”
Stock photo of airplanes taking off and landing at Laguardia airport in New York
Trump and Putin failed to reach a peace deal or agree to a ceasefire during their recent summit in Alaska on Aug. 15, despite Trump having vaguely threatened “very severe consequences” if Russia didn’t comply.
Days after his meeting with Putin, Trump changed his tune, telling Zelenskyy and other European leaders that he didn’t think a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was necessary or even realistic while larger peace negotiations are underway.
The president admitted to the difficulty of negotiating with Putin during his remarks at the Kennedy Center on Aug. 13.
“I’ve had a lot of good conversations with [Putin]. Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building and people are laying dead in the streets,” Trump said.
People
Peruvian lawmakers have taken decisive action by voting to remove President Dina Boluarte from office following widespread public dissatisfaction with the country’s escalating crime rates and ongoing political scandals.
In a late-night session held in Lima, Congress reached a majority decision to impeach the president, citing “permanent moral incapacity” as the basis for their decision. Out of the 130 members of Congress, 118 voted in favor of the motion, effectively determining Boluarte’s political fate after she declined to appear before lawmakers to present her defense.
Congress leader José Jerí immediately announced, “The president’s impeachment has been approved,” before taking the oath as interim president. He will oversee the country until new elections scheduled for April 2026.
Boluarte’s presidency, which began in December 2022, has been dogged by protests, corruption allegations, and surging gang violence. Her failure to reduce crime including rising cases of extortion and murder linked to organised groups, sparked widespread frustration among Peruvians.
She had already survived several impeachment attempts before Friday’s vote. This latest one followed weeks of demonstrations against a controversial pension reform law and outrage over reports that she accepted luxury watches and jewellery, a scandal widely known as “Rolexgate.”
Boluarte also drew criticism earlier this year for awarding herself a significant pay rise, even as unemployment and inflation worsened across the country.
As of the time of this press report, former President Boluarte remained silent on her removal, while security forces increased patrols around government buildings amid fears of renewed protests.
Spotlights
‘Stop Dancing Around’: Makinde Tutors Minister Umahi How To Calculates Cost of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has criticised the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, accusing him of evading questions about the cost of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project approved by President Bola Tinubu, Politics Nigeria.
Makinde, who spoke on Friday, was reacting to Umahi’s heated exchange with Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni earlier in the week, during which the minister declined to provide a cost breakdown of the project on a per-kilometre basis.
Oseni had asked Umahi to explain the project’s cost per kilometre, a question the minister dismissed as “elementary,” insisting that the prices vary along different sections of the road and that the journalist lacked the technical knowledge to understand the process.
Umahi said, “Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field… The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.”
Governor Makinde, however, defended the journalist, saying Umahi’s evasiveness was unnecessary.
“They asked a minister how much the coastal road is, and then you’re dancing around, saying the next kilometre is different from the next. Then what is the average cost?” Makinde said.
He compared the coastal project to road works executed under his administration, providing clear figures.
“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road, it was about ₦9.99 billion for roughly 35 kilometres, an average of ₦238 million per kilometre.
“For the Iseyin to Ogbomoso road, 76 kilometres cost ₦43 billion, about ₦500 million per kilometre. And that included two bridges,” the governor explained.
Chief John Uche, the inaugural president of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Lagos State, emphasised the harmonious relations and intermarriages among the Igbo community, declaring that they had successfully integrated into the social fabric of the city without any significant conflicts at the time.
He pointed out that the Igbo people have played a pivotal role in the economic development of Lagos State, attributing an impressive 75 percent of the state’s economic growth to their contributions.
In an interview with Nigerian Tribune, Chief Uche further noted the historical complexities surrounding land ownership, mentioning how the original Lagosians sold their land to the Igbo community and later contested their rights to that land. He posed a thought-provoking question, asking, “Who truly owns the land?”
He said: “The Igbo intermarried and mingled without any crisis. We contributed to the growth of Lagos State. Our contribution is not less than 75 percent of the economy of Lagos State. They sold their land to us and later come to tell me that we are not land owners. Who owns the land?”
Spotlights
139 Million Nigerians Live in Poverty: Presidency Hits Back At World Bank Over Misleading Report
The Presidency has faulted the World Bank’s latest economic report, which estimated that about 139 million Nigerians are living in poverty, describing the figure as exaggerated and disconnected from the country’s prevailing realities.
The new figure by the organisation represents an increase from 129 million in April 2025.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, in a statement posted on his official X handle on Wednesday, said the World Bank’s poverty estimate must be “properly contextualised” within the framework of global poverty measurement models.
“While Nigeria values its partnership with the World Bank and appreciates its contributions to policy analysis, the figure quoted must be properly contextualised. It is unrealistic,” Dare said.
According to the Presidency, the global lender’s estimate was based on the $2.15 per person per day international poverty line, set in 2017 using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). It said the figure should not be mistaken for an actual headcount of poor Nigerians.
The statement explained that, when converted to nominal terms, the $2.15 benchmark equals about N100,000 per month at the current exchange rate, which is significantly higher than Nigeria’s new minimum wage of N70,000. It added that the PPP methodology relies on historical consumption data—Nigeria’s last major household survey was conducted in 2018/2019—and often fails to account for the large informal and subsistence sectors that sustain millions of Nigerian families.
“There must be caution against interpreting the World Bank’s numbers as a literal, real-time headcount,” the Presidency said. “The figure is an analytical construct, not a direct reflection of local income realities.”
The Presidency, therefore, described the World Bank’s estimate as a modelled global projection rather than an empirical reflection of living conditions in 2025. Dare stressed that the administration’s focus was on changing the trajectory, not debating static figures, adding that Nigeria’s economy was now on a recovery and reform path aimed at achieving inclusive growth and social protection.
He noted that the administration has expanded a number of social welfare and economic initiatives under the Renewed Hope Agenda to cushion the impact of recent reforms while laying the foundation for long-term prosperity. These, he said, include the Conditional Cash Transfer programme, which now covers 15 million households nationwide with digital verification through the National Social Register; the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme targeting all 8,809 electoral wards with micro-infrastructure and social projects; and the strengthening of National Social Investment Programmes such as N-Power, GEEP micro-loans, and school feeding schemes to support jobs, businesses, and education.
He further cited food security initiatives involving the distribution of subsidised grains and fertilisers, mechanisation partnerships, and the revival of strategic food reserves to stabilise staple prices. The Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund, he said, is financing key road, housing, and power projects to lower living costs and create jobs, while the National Credit Guarantee Company is expanding affordable credit access for small businesses, women, and youth entrepreneurs through risk-sharing arrangements with commercial banks.
The Presidency maintained that the Tinubu administration was tackling Nigeria’s poverty challenge by addressing the structural distortions that have constrained productivity and inclusive growth for decades. It explained that ongoing reforms such as the removal of fuel subsidy, exchange rate unification, and fiscal reallocation of funds toward productive sectors were “painful but necessary choices” aimed at fixing the root causes of poverty rather than its symptoms.
It noted that even the World Bank had acknowledged that these reforms are already restoring macroeconomic stability and growth momentum. The government emphasised that economic recovery alone is not enough unless it translates into real welfare gains for ordinary Nigerians. According to the statement, the administration’s medium-term priority is to ensure that macroeconomic stability leads to affordable food, quality jobs, and reliable infrastructure.
It added that major investments were underway in agriculture, manufacturing, and power, including new gas-to-power projects and skill development hubs expected to boost job creation and reduce living costs. “Nigerians should begin to feel visible improvements in food prices, income, and purchasing power as these programmes mature,” the statement said.
The Presidency also revealed that efforts were ongoing to consolidate the nation’s social protection architecture under a unified, data-driven framework to enhance transparency and ensure that no vulnerable community is left behind. It said the administration was expanding the National Social Register and scaling up existing social investment schemes to provide targeted support to poor households.
The Presidency reaffirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to building a resilient and inclusive economy that directly improves living standards. “Nigeria rejects exaggerated statistical interpretations detached from local realities. The government remains focused on empowering households, expanding opportunity, and laying the foundation for a fairer, more prosperous nation,” the statement said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the World Bank released its October 2025 Nigeria Development Update titled “From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home.” The Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, warned that about 139 million Nigerians were living in poverty despite recent economic stabilisation efforts.
Verghis commended the Tinubu administration for implementing bold reforms in the exchange rate and petroleum subsidy regimes, describing them as “foundational” steps that could transform Nigeria’s long-term economic trajectory.
“Over the last two years, Nigeria has commendably implemented bold reforms, notably around the exchange rate and the petrol subsidy. These are the foundations on which the country has the opportunity to build a programme that can transform its economic trajectory,” he said.
However, he cautioned that while the reforms were yielding macroeconomic improvements—such as rising revenues, stable reserves, and easing inflation—the benefits had yet to reach most Nigerian households. “Despite these stabilisation gains, many households are still struggling with eroded purchasing power. Poverty, which began to rise in 2019 due to policy missteps and external shocks such as COVID-19, has continued to increase even after the reforms. In 2025, we estimate that 139 million Nigerians live in poverty,” Verghis added.
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has confirmed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has formally responded to 19 audit queries concerning discrepancies amounting to N210 trillion in its financial records between 2017 and 2023, as reported by Nairametrics.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, disclosed this in Abuja during an interview with journalists, clarifying that while the NNPCL’s response has been received, the committee has not yet scrutinized the submitted documents in detail.
Wadada explained that the NNPCL had earlier requested an extension after being directed by the committee on July 29 to provide answers within three weeks.
The company’s management, led by Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, sought more time to compile comprehensive data and respond to the audit queries — a request that the Senate committee granted.
“While we were on recess, management of NNPCL wrote to the committee, requesting an extension of time to enable them to compile data and respond comprehensively to the questions we raised, and we granted that request.
“They have since responded, and we now have answers to all 19 questions we sent to them; however, the report is yet to be presented before the committee.
“That is why, as chairman, I have refrained from making any public statement on the matter until it is properly laid before members.
“But let me assure you, as I promised earlier on behalf of the committee, we will do justice to the matter.”
He said that beyond the audited financial statements, there were other issues emerging around the NNPCL.
According to him, the first of such issues is production sharing contracts.
“Specifically, the production cost to Nigeria must be clearly defined, and the public deserves to know what portion goes to the NNPCL, what goes to the international oil companies (IOCs) and what accrues to the government under the production sharing arrangement.
“Furthermore, the committee has been informed that NNPCL Retail has declared a loss.
“This development is also of concern to us and to the public. We find it difficult to understand why NNPCL retail should record a loss, but we will seek clarification when the corporation appears before us.
“As far as the audited financial statements are concerned, which cover the period between 2017 and 2023. NNPC has submitted its responses to the 19 questions we asked. Nigerians and the media will be informed of the contents in due course.
“Out of those answers, the ones that make sense and those that do not will be evident to the public”, he stressed.
In July, the Senate gave the NNPCL a 21-day deadline to respond to audit queries involving an unaccounted N210 trillion flagged in the Auditor-General’s reports covering 2017 to 2023.
The audit queries involve N103 trillion in liabilities and N107 trillion in assets yet to be reconciled, based on audited financial statements and not allegations from any government arm.
Earlier in July 2025, Ojulari failed to appear at a scheduled hearing, citing an OPEC meeting in Vienna. The committee rejected a presentation made by NNPCL’s Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, insisting that only the GCEO could address the queries as reported by Nairametrics.
In June, the Senate said that it might be compelled to issue an arrest warrant if Ojulari failed to appear on the said date.
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