Author: Tribune Online

A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has declared that he has no regrets supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of

The post 2027: I’ve no regrets dumping Kwankwaso for Tinubu — Jibrin appeared first on Tribune Online.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) have called on

The post Eid-el-Kabir: CAN, MUSWEN urge leaders to tackle hardship, insecurity appeared first on Tribune Online.

A former member of the House of Representatives from Kano State, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has suggested what the opposition can do to give the party and President Bola Tinubu a sleepless night in 2027.

Jibrin said if the opposition had come together to form a united front, they would have given Tinubu and the APC a sleepless night.

Featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the former lawmaker said Tinubu would defeat opposition in 2027.

According to Jibrin: “The more they come out the better the chances of Tinubu, the more they increase in number to contest, the better the chances.

“The simple dynamics that would have given us a little sleepless night where we will wake up and really work is if the opposition had all come out to work together and did exactly what Tinubu did in 2015, bringing everybody together bringing Buhari, members of the National Assembly together, bringing Southwest governors, went after all the governors that they needed and at the end of the day, they got five governors. He made sure the opposition was uptight but we are not having that Today.”

Jibrin said the more the opposition divide themselves, the more they split their votes in 2027.

“The more they divide themselves the more they split their votes but the vote of the president continues to remain intact, none of them is taking anything from the vote the president is going to get. 

“Even if they come all together, the president would still defeat them,” he added.

2027: How opposition would’ve given Tinubu sleepless night – APC chieftain, Jibrin

Barcelona are already in “direct talks” with Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon, over a possible transfer this summer.

Gordon has been the subject of attention from Arsenal and Bayern Munich.

But according to football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, Barca are moving quickly to land Gordon.

Their sporting director Deco has already travelled to the UK to open negotiations and the player himself is keen on the move.

Romano wrote on X on Wednesday morning: “Barcelona are in direct club to club talks with Newcastle for Anthony Gordon.

“The player’s keen on the move but more clubs are also on it.

“This was the reason of Deco’s mission to the UK, as @mundodeportivo reports.

“Bayern and Premier League clubs are also keen.”

Transfer: Barcelona set to sign Anthony Gordon ahead of Arsenal, Bayern Munich

The United States Embassy in Abuja and the Consulate General in Lagos will remain closed on Wednesday and Thursday in observance of the Eid al-Adha holidays.

The announcement was made in a statement posted on X by the U.S. Mission in Nigeria on Wednesday.

The mission also extended goodwill messages to Muslims celebrating the festival.

It wrote: “The U.S. Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos will be closed on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 and Thursday, May 28, 2026 in observance of Eid al-Adha holidays.

“From all of us at the U.S. Mission Nigeria, #EidMubarak. May your time during this holiday and throughout the year be filled with peace, happiness, and good health.”

DAILY POST reported that the Nigerian government had also declared public holidays the same period for the Islamic celebration.

Eid-el-Kabir: US Embassy in Abuja, Lagos Consulate close for Wednesday, Thursday

Plateau State chapter of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, on Tuesday, unveiled Margaret Inusa Yahaya as its consensus governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 gubernatorial election in the state.

The State Chairman of the SDP, Zim Philip Jibi, who unveiled Yahaya as the party’s candidate, described her as a fresh breath and a new dawn for the people of Plateau.

According to Jibi, Yahaya emerged through a consensus and affirmation process during the party’s governorship primary election held at the Tanjuriel Elite Stars Model Academy School Hall along Old Airport Road in Jos.

He stated that party stakeholders, zonal leaders, supporters, and officials unanimously endorsed Yahaya following consultations and agreements reached across the party’s zonal congresses in the state.

Yahaya, who spoke to journalists after her unveiling, said her emergence as the party’s gubernatorial candidate is a call to serve the people of the state and not a contest based on gender.

“Leadership should be based on ability, competence, and the willingness to address the challenges facing the people.

“We are not talking about whether women can do better than men. It is about potential, ability, and the will to provide what the people need,” she said.

Describing herself as a pastor, mother, and ambassador for peace, she said her experience and compassion would guide her leadership style.

She also stressed that if elected, her administration would prioritise the welfare and security of the people under a “People First” agenda.

The SDP governorship candidate expressed concern over insecurity, killings, and economic hardship affecting communities across Plateau State, including Riyom, Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Mangu, Wase, and Bokkos local government areas, and promised to prioritize the security of Plateau people above anything.

Plateau 2027: SDP unveils Margaret Yahaya as consensus governorship candidate

Popular Oyo State broadcaster and philanthropist, Oriyomi Hamzat, has emerged as the Accord consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 election in Oyo State, with the media personality declaring that the journey towards a better state has started. Hamzat, who announced his governorship ambition in January, expressed gratitude to supporters, party leaders, and residents across the […]

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The senatorial candidate of Oyo Central Senatorial District under the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, has extended warm Eid-el-Kabir greetings to Muslims and residents across Oyo, urging Nigerians to embrace the values of sacrifice, compassion, unity, and peaceful coexistence as symbolised by the Islamic festival. Ajadi, who recently distributed over 500 bags of […]

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Femi Azeez made history as the 62nd player to score on his debut for the Super Eagles following the team’s 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe on Tuesday night, DAILY POST reports.

The Millwall winger opened the scoring for Éric Chelle’s side in the fifth minute, before doubling the advantage two minutes after the hour mark.

Other prominent players, who scored  on their debut for the Super Eagles are Finidi George, Julius Aghahowa, Obafemi Martins, Joe Aribo, and Bryan Idowu.

Azeez was also the first Super Eagles player to score a brace on his debut in 55 years.

Mathias Obianika was the last player to achieve the feat in Nigeria’s 4-0 defeat of Burkina Faso in November 1971.

DAILY POST reports only five players have scored a brace on their debut for the Super Eagles.

They are Friday Okoh, Patrick Noquapor, Abudu Buraimoh, and Obianika.

Unity Cup: Azeez makes history in Super Eagles’ win over Zimbabwe

While Nigerian children mark Children’s Day with celebrations across the country, over 80 pupils remain in captivity from two school attacks on May 15, 2026. Their families mark the day in anguish while keeping vigil for their return.

Both attacks happened on the same day. In the Northeast, suspected militants took 42 to 50 children from Central Primary School and a junior secondary school in Mussa, Askira-Uba, Borno State during class hours, including toddlers from the nursery section. The same morning, in the Southwest, bandits kidnapped 39 students from three schools in Ahoro-Esiele, Oriire, Oyo State. The children from both attacks have not been rescued.

The May 15 abductions are the latest in a wave of school attack in the country. Between November 2025 and May 2026, gunmen have hit schools and orphanages across five states. The kidnappers have taken 432 to 440 children from classrooms, dormitories, and nurseries.

On November 17, 2025, bandits scaled the fence of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi in the Northwest of the country. They abducted 25 female students and killed the vice-principal. The girls were freed eight days later.

Four days after that, the attack went to the North-Central. At 2:00 a.m. on November, armed men stormed St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State. They took 303 students and 12 teachers. About 50 children escaped. The rest were released in batches by December.

In April 2026, the crisis reached an orphanage for the first time. On April 26, heavily armed men raided the unregistered Daarul-Kitab Islamic Orphanage in Lokoja, Kogi. They kidnapped 23 children and the proprietor’s wife. Fifteen were rescued within 24 hours. The Nigerian Army freed the last nine on May 6.

Then came May 15, and two attacks in one day. In the Northeast, suspected militants attacked three institutions, including Central Primary School and a junior secondary school in Mussa, Askira-Uba, Borno State during class hours. They took 42 to 50 children, including toddlers from the nursery section.

The same morning, in the Southwest, bandits invaded three schools in Ahoro-Esiele, Oriire, Oyo State before dawn. The attackers simultaneously targeted Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Ayawota; Community Grammar School; and L.A Primary School, Esiele in the area.

They kidnapped 39 students and seven teachers. One mathematics teacher, Joel Adesiyan, was killed in his classroom. Michael Oyedokun, another teacher who was among the dozens of hostages abducted during the raid, was subsequently beheaded by the captors. The children are still not home.

The abductions came even after the Federal Government launched responses to secure schools. The original response was the Safe Schools Initiative, launched in 2014 after abduction of the Chibok Schoolgirls.

In 2022, government followed it with the National Plan on Financing Safe Schools (NPFSS), designed to protect schools and learners with budgetary allocations. Yet the attacks show the gap between policy on paper and security on the ground.

The NPFSS was approved in December 2021, under President Muhammadu Buhari. It was launched in May 2022. That month, a technical committee in the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning finished the plan. The cost was N144.86bn for four years, 2023 to 2026.

According to the split, N32.58bn was budgeted for 2023, N36.98bn for 2024, N37.15bn for 2025, and N38.03bn for 2026. The promise was to cover 50 percent of the most at-risk public schools, starting with 18 high-risk states and 48 schools.

The first money moved on August 9, 2023, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Months after he took office, his government announced that N15bn had been released to fund the Safe Schools Initiative for that year. The National Coordinator of the National Safe Schools Response Coronation Centre(NSSRCC), the implementation aim of the Safe School Initiative and the NPFSS, Halima Ibrahim disclosed in Abuja that a financing secretariat was now in place and work had started.

Then the funding stopped under the same administration. By the time the Senate opened its Ad Hoc Committee hearings on December 10, 2025, the Coordinator told lawmakers there had been no budgetary provision for Safe Schools in 2024 and again in 2025.

Her explanation was that her request reached President Tinubu’s office too late to be captured in those two budgets. So for two of the four years in the plan, nothing was released. Out of the N144.86bn on paper, only the N15bn from 2023 had gone out under Tinubu.

Even how the N15bn was spent was questioned. During the hearing chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the record showed that the Nigeria Police Force received N6.225bn, the largest single share. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps got N3.362bn. Defence Headquarters received N2.250bn. The Federal Ministry of Education got N519m.

While comparing the spending types, the documents also showed that almost half of N4.44bn in earlier expenditures went to consultancy and operational costs. The committee therefore ordered a complete reconciliation of all Safe Schools accounts and asked for inflow and outflow statements, a list of contractors, and CBN Trust Fund records.

While the probe was ongoing, the calendar kept moving. In April 2026, it was reported that the House of Representatives Order Paper showed a new request from President Tinubu’s government; an additional N5bn for Safe Schools in the 2026 budget, under Capital Supplementation. The proposal came at the same time lawmakers were questioning the programme’s impact.

While lawmakers debate impact, National Mobilisation Officer of the Education Rights Campaign, ERC, Adaramoye Lenin, said that the Safe Schools Initiative has failed from the start.

“Billions of naira have gone into it but yet it has no positive impact and we still have students being kidnapped in schools,” Lenin said in an interview with THE WHISTLER.

He noted that what began with the Chibok abductions in the Northeast has now spread to states like Oyo, which he said proves the programme is not working.

Lenin blamed poor planning and a reactive approach. He argued that the government often announces initiatives to calm public anger without involving key stakeholders like the Nigeria Union of Teachers.
As a result, he said, funds are diverted and many schools remain without basic security.

He described the situation as “a national shame” on Children’s Day, when over 80 pupils remain in captivity.

According to him, the government’s response suggests it is relying on kidnappers’ goodwill for release, instead of mounting a decisive rescue.
He added that children, as a vulnerable group, deserve special protection under global standards.

Lenin also faulted state governments. He said all states receive security votes running into billions monthly, yet there is little accountability on how the money is used.

For him, the crisis reflects a broader governance failure tied to unemployment, out-of-school children, poverty and illiteracy.

He urged government to rescue all abducted students and teachers immediately, deploy security personnel to vulnerable schools, and work with communities.

Beyond policing, he said, the root causes must be tackled; poor school conditions, joblessness, and rural neglect.

“Beyond deploying security agents, we need to fight poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy. These will help a great deal,” he said.

Also speaking, Elvis Boniface, Education Specialist and Managing Director of Edugist, said the original intent of the Safe Schools Initiative was sound, but argued the impact has not matched the scale of the crisis.

Boniface said funding and announcements alone cannot guarantee safety, adding that what is needed is a functional system that combines infrastructure, community intelligence, and rapid response.

For him, the initiative must move from ad-hoc projects to a measurable national framework with transparent reporting and community participation.

Boniface called for accountability from the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre.

“Nigerians deserve to know which schools have benefited, what exactly was implemented and what outcomes have been achieved,” he said.

He said security is a shared duty, noting that the Federal Government should lead on policy, intelligence and funding, while states, being closer to schools, should implement practical safety measures.
He added that coordination is missing between education authorities, security agencies, local governments, parents and community vigilantes.

Boniface’s immediate recommendation was a nationwide emergency audit of all vulnerable schools, followed by a rapid protection plan.

This, he said, should include posting trained personnel to high-risk schools, improving surveillance, fencing premises, and building community trust so early warnings are acted on.

“Protecting schools must become a national emergency priority. When children are afraid to go to school, the future of this country is under threat,” Boniface said.

Children’s Day: 80 Pupils Still In Captivity Despite Safe Schools Programme is first published on The Whistler Newspaper