Over 1,000 Islamic clerics have offered special prayers for President Bola Tinubu and the NNPP National Leader, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, for the country’s peace, growth, and political stability.

Rep. Abdulmumin Kofa (NNPP-Kiru/Bebeji), who hosted the clerics in Kiru, prayed for Kano State Governor Kabir Yusuf’s victory in court.

This was said by the lawmaker’s Media Aide, Malam Sani Paki, in Kano on Monday.

The clerics recited the holy Qur’an 1,101 times throughout the prayer session and prayed for the country’s peace, growth, and political stability, according to the statement. 

According to Kofa, his relationship with Tinubu is no secret.

He stated that Kwankwaso is his mentor and that he will continue to support and promote Tinubu and Kwankwaso’s peaceful relationship.

The NNPP, according to Kofa, is a highly promising party that is still open to collaboration, alliance, and merger with the APC, as well as the PDP, LP, or any other party that expressed interest, as long as it is for the sake of Nigerians.

He also vowed to use his little political network to reach out to Kano political gladiators in order to resolve any resolvable issues and de-escalate the state’s existing tensions as a consequence of the Kano governorship race.

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Sunday, said the country was almost comatose when President Bola Tinubu came into power.

Abiodun disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

He said, “The President Tinubu-led administration has been very bold and audacious.

“They’ve taken the bull by the horns. They’ve done what no government has done in the history of Nigeria.

“Tinubu inherited an administration that was almost comatose. I believe this government is very bold and taking the bull by the horns.

“President Tinubu has been able to do what no president has ever been able to do in the history of Nigeria.

“President Tinubu deregulated the petroleum industry to save Nigerians.”

The governor, however, urged Nigerians to be patient with the President, saying he is confident in the Tinubu-led administration to tackle the challenges facing the country.

He added, “You know our President, besides being a former governor and a senator, he is also an accountant.

“So, he is someone who is very spot on and all hands are on deck to turn this economy around. We are very hopeful and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

This is coming a few days after the Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, said the administration of Tinubu took over a “dead economy.”

Soludo stated that the Tinubu regime inherited an economy already beyond revival before it assumed office.

“I said it before. This particular government inherited a dead economy from a microeconomic point of view. This government inherited a dead horse that was seen standing but people didn’t know that it was dead. I think it’s important for Nigerians to understand this,” he said on the same programme.

Earlier this month, Tinubu while negotiating an infrastructure loan in Saudi Arabia had also stated his administration took over substantial fiscal and infrastructure deficits.

PUNCH reports that Tinubu took over from former President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2023.

Buhari and Tinubu belong to the same party, the All Progressives Congress.

A nationwide curfew was declared yesterday by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio after unidentified gunmen attacked military barracks in the West African nation’s capital, Freetown.

This is as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned the plot by some individuals to disturb the peace of the West African country.

The condemnation is contained in a statement issued by ECOWAS on Sunday in Abuja.

The situation in Sierra Leone has been tense since the disputed re-election of Bio.

Taking to X, Bio said unidentified gunmen attacked a military armoury within the barracks in the capital, Freetown, early morning. “They were driven back by security forces and calm has been restored,” he added.

As the combined team of security forces continues to root out the remnant of the fleeing renegades, a nationwide curfew has been declared and citizens are encouraged to stay indoors, he wrote.

But, ECOWAS said it has learnt, “with utter disgust, a plot by certain individuals to acquire arms and disturb the peace and constitutional order in Sierra Leone”.

“ECOWAS condemns this act and calls for the arrest and prosecution of everyone involved in the illegality.

“The bloc has always maintained its zero-tolerance for unconstitutional change of government.

“We want to reaffirm our commitment to supporting the government and the people of Sierra Leone’s quest to deepen democracy and good governance by consolidating peace and security so as to foster socio-economic development,” it stated.

It was also learnt that some inmates from the central prison in Freetown had escaped and the authorities are investigating into the incident. So far, it is not clear how many had escaped the prison.

Some of the videos that circulated in the social media revealed many people fleeing from the prison area, while gunshots were heard in the background. According to officials, the gunmen who attacked the military barracks later broke into the prison and freed the prisoners.

Sierra Leone’s civil aviation authority had urged airlines to reschedule flights after the curfew was imposed.

The aviation authority said in a statement that passengers should be placed on the next available flights after the curfew is lifted. It added that the country’s airspace remains open.

Bio was reelected for a second term in June amid opposition party’s accusation of Sierra Leone’s electoral commission of conspiring with his party.

Since the end of the 11-year brutal civil war, it was the fifth presidential election held in the nation.

Since 2020, there have been eight military coups in West and Central Africa. Bio has been facing criticism because of weakening economic conditions. The nation is battling severe poverty, youth unemployment among other issues.

On the latest attack, the U.S. embassy in Freetown said in a statement that such actions were not justified.

he All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has alleged that Governor Ademola Adeleke absconded from the state to avoid giving account of stewardship for his one year anniversary.

The Nation recalls that Adeleke had embarked on overseas trips amid speculations that he went for a knee surgery three weeks ago, but his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, at the weekend disclosed that the governor embarked on vacation because he had not gone for any since he assumed office.

APC through its Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement yesterday berated Adeleke’s one year old administration, saying: “We know very well that Governor Adeleke has absconded from the state so he will not be able to give due account of his stewardship to the people.”

He added: “Since November 2022 when he came on board, Governor Adeleke has run the state aground with his sheer incompetence, lack of proper education and his zero administrative acumen. He is afraid to disclose to Osun people how he has mismanaged over N130billion revenue accrued to his government in the last one year.”

Lawal said: “Adeleke is afraid to tell them how he has allocated the supplementary budget of over N10billion for his food, entertainment and office use while the parents of University of Osun (UNIOSUN) students are struggling to pay increased school fees his administration forced on them to pay. Osun people deserve to know the whereabouts of their governor.

“Governor Adeleke is ashamed to face Osun people that one year after, his promise of making Osun another Dubai is a fluke told by a scoundrel and conman. Adeleke is distraught to face Osun people because he has failed to provide palliative for them in the face of economic hardship occasioned by removal of fuel subsidy and the N9billion he collected from the Federal Government, his demonic government has looted it.”

Adeleke through his spokesperson, Rasheed, reacting to Osun APC, said the opposition was still living in pains of 2022 governorship and 2023 general election defeats

He said: “When I assumed office, we had benchmarks and deliverables according to each sector. Our team set milestones to achieve in health, education, infrastructure, ICT, agriculture, youth, women among others. I look back and I can tell you we’ve performed beyond our plans.

“The opposition APC is still nursing the wound of their electoral defeat. So the party is ashamed to see the positive changes we are recording in the state. Our achievements are there for all to see.

“In the road sector, we have reconstructed 90 kilometres of roads, with another 45 kilometres ongoing. We have rehabilitated 31 schools with another 31 in the pipeline. We have built 332 water projects, while major water works at Iwo, Ede, Osogbo are under rehabilitation.”