Category: Politics

MINNA, Nigeria (NPA) — Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has donated N20 million to families affected by the deaths of 37 suspected artisanal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.

Atiku made the donation on Tuesday during a visit to Minna, where he met families and survivors of the incident amid public calls for accountability over the deaths.

He also paid a condolence visit to the Emir of Minna and Chairman of the Minna Emirate Council, Alhaji (Dr.) Umar Farouk Bahago, and visited former military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

According to a statement issued on Sept. 24 by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, the former Vice President said Nigeria could not secure its future without investing deliberately in young people, expanding opportunities and enabling them to pursue legitimate and productive livelihoods.

Atiku described the deaths as a painful reminder of the vulnerability of young Nigerians struggling to survive amid severe economic pressures.

He said it was particularly distressing to hear firsthand the account of one of the survivors.

“It was a gory tale listening to one of the survivors. He told us that more than 68 of them were crammed into one small detention facility and that conditions became so desperate that they had to drink one another’s urine just to stay hydrated.

“No Nigerian should ever be subjected to such indignity in the custody of his own government. These were human beings in the care of the state. Whatever accusations may have been made against them, they were entitled to their lives, their dignity and the protection of the law.”

Atiku said the fact that many young Nigerians were being driven into hazardous and poorly regulated occupations should compel the government to confront the underlying challenges of poverty, unemployment and the rising cost of living.

“Thirty-seven young Nigerians entered the custody of the state alive and did not return alive to their families. That tragedy demands truth, justice and accountability.

“But beyond establishing what happened in that detention facility, we must also ask why so many of our young people are being pushed into dangerous and precarious livelihoods simply to survive.”

The former Vice President said the deaths should prompt the Tinubu administration to reflect on what he described as the human consequences of economic policies that had placed pressure on households and reduced opportunities for young Nigerians.

“When families can no longer afford the basics and young people are forced to take extraordinary risks just to earn a living, government cannot pretend that everything is working.

“Economic reform must ultimately be measured by what it does to the lives of ordinary people. If life becomes progressively more difficult for families, workers and young people, then government has a responsibility to reconsider the choices producing those outcomes.”

Atiku also reiterated his commitment to policies aimed at reducing the cost of living if elected president, including a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria rather than a return to an open-ended subsidy on imported fuel.

He said the proposed policy would support domestic refining, reduce waste and ensure that government intervention translated into lower prices for consumers.

“My promise to make life affordable again is not a political slogan. It is a solemn covenant with the Nigerian people.

“We will support what Nigeria produces. We will support fuel refined in Nigeria, create Nigerian jobs and insist that every naira of government support delivers a measurable benefit to the consumer.

“The purpose of government is not merely to announce reforms. The purpose of government is to make life better for the people.”

Atiku said Nigerian youths deserved classrooms, skills, jobs and opportunities that would enable them to fulfil their potential rather than an economy in which survival increasingly depended on dangerous and uncertain livelihoods.

OWERRI, Nigeria (NPA) — The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency in the 2027 elections, Barr. Maxwell Opara, has expressed concern over the condition of residents of Onicha-Nwafor community in Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State.

Opara, in a statement issued after visiting the community on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, said he was disturbed by what he described as severe infrastructure deficits and poor living conditions in the area.

He alleged that gully erosion had affected parts of the community and that residents lacked adequate access roads and basic infrastructure.

“I could not believe what I witnessed today, 24th September, 2026, at Onicha-Nwafor Community in Ezinihitte Mbaise,” Opara said.

“I never knew that some of our own brothers and sisters are still living in what can only be described as a forest in this 21st Century, in my own Mbaise.”

Opara said he was particularly concerned about the condition of public schools in the community, alleging that the only secondary and primary schools had been overtaken by weeds and overgrown grass, making them difficult to access.

“I cannot comprehend why a community should be allowed to live under such dehumanizing condition — where gully erosion is almost swallowing the entire community, with no access road whatsoever,” he said.

The candidate said he had visited several communities across Mbaise during his campaign but described the situation he encountered in Onicha-Nwafor as the most difficult condition he had witnessed.

Despite the challenges, Opara said residents turned out to receive him and expressed support for his campaign.

“It was a mixture of tears and joy. Tears for their condition, joy for their resilience and faith,” he said.

Opara said the experience had strengthened his resolve to advocate for communities he described as underserved.

“I left Onicha-Nwafor with a burden in my heart. This is why we are in this race — to give a voice to the voiceless and bring development to the forgotten,” he said.

AWKA, Nigeria (NPA) — The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has responded to the controversy over Anambra State’s debt profile, disputing the state government’s description of about $123.77 million in multilateral development financing as debt left by his administration.

Obi, in a statement titled “On the Anambra Debt Question,” said he had remained silent in recent days while mourning the death of his elder brother and friend, Chief Okey Ezeibe.

He urged Nigerians to focus on the challenges confronting the country and said he had no disagreement with Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, or any other governor.

Obi also urged governors to allow presidential and other political candidates to campaign freely in their states, saying voters should ultimately decide who represents them.

Addressing the debt controversy, the former Anambra governor said he did not borrow from any financial institution or issue a bond on behalf of the state during his tenure.

He cited the then Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Abraham Nwankwo, whom he said described him at his farewell ceremony as the only state governor during Nwankwo’s 10-year tenure who had not approached the DMO for a loan facility.

Obi also said that when he left office, Anambra owed no unpaid salaries, gratuities or pensions, and had no outstanding payments to contractors or suppliers whose completed work had been verified and certified by the government.

On the multilateral financing, Obi said World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) programmes cited by the Anambra Government were concessionary development funds secured by the Federal Government for selected states and accessed through subsidiary arrangements.

He said the state government should distinguish between the total amount approved for a multiyear programme, the amount actually drawn by Anambra during his tenure and the balance outstanding when he handed over on March 17, 2014.

Obi said the state government had combined those categories and described the resulting $123.77 million as “loans left by Peter Obi”, which he described as an incorrect application of public-sector accounting.

“The eight facilities identified were primarily World Bank and IFAD development programs negotiated by the Federal Government, with participating states receiving access to the funds through subsidiary arrangements. They were not conventional commercial loans that I personally secured during my tenure,” he said.

He, however, acknowledged that the state had repayment obligations, saying each facility should be assessed based on its approval, effectiveness, drawdown and repayment records.

Obi also questioned the figures attributed to Anambra’s external debt, citing DMO records which, according to him, showed the state’s external debt at about $18 million when he assumed office in March 2006, about $30 million when he left office in March 2014 and approximately $45.15 million as of Dec. 31, 2014.

He asked the state government to explain how Anambra could have inherited $123.77 million from his administration in March 2014 if the state’s recorded external debt at the time was about $30 million.

Obi further claimed that he left more than $150 million as the dollar component of his investment in Anambra State and said the funds could have generated about $10 million annually if they had remained untouched.

He argued that over 13 years, the projected income would have been sufficient to offset the alleged liability.

Obi also presented a hypothetical calculation that retaining the funds, including compound interest and additional income, could have raised their value to approximately $335 million, saying repayment of the $92.35 million outstanding funding would still have left about $242 million for reinvestment.

He said the reinvested funds could have generated about $20 million annually for the state.

The former governor maintained that he left Anambra in a strong financial position, describing it as the strongest of any state in Nigeria.

“Through this clarification, I wish to state categorically that I will neither engage nor trade words with anyone regarding my tenure in Anambra State. My focus will now be on issues affecting the suffering Nigerian masses, which is the reason for my presidential ambition,” Obi said.