Author: Tribune Online

United Kingdom (UK) police on Friday said they are investigating a reported security incident near the Israeli embassy in

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has unveiled new conditions of service for its staff in line with global best practices. While launching the newly approved Staff Conditions of Service (CoS) for NSIB on Friday in Abuja, the Director General of NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., said the unveiling marks a significant step toward strengthening […]

A leading figure in the Labour Party in Abia State and Stakeholders Chairman of Labour Party/Abia Arise in Obingwa LGA, Hon. Peter Azubuike, popularly known as “The Rock,” has unleashed a sharp criticism against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, asking him to declare or step aside, describing his recent statements as “reckless and empty political rhetoric.”

Azubuike’s strong reaction comes after Kalu made a controversial comment implying that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State would “sweep monies from Signature Bank,” a remark that has triggered widespread political condemnation across the state.

In a passionate and direct response during an exclusive interview, Hon. Azubuike challenged Kalu, popularly called “Big Ben,” to end what he called “political grandstanding” and publicly declare his intention to run for governor if he is serious about contesting or step aside.

“Why the delay? What exactly is holding him back? Abians are waiting,” Azubuike said, dismissing Kalu’s comments as distractions lacking substance.

He maintained that although democracy permits anyone to seek political office, the people of Abia have already made their preference clear in Governor Alex Otti, whom he described as the overwhelming mandate of the people.

“Over 95 percent of Abians can’t wait to re-elect Governor Alex Otti. That’s the reality. All this noise about coming to Obingwa to pick a running mate is baseless and irrelevant,” he declared.

Azubuike also firmly rejected what he saw as subtle political intimidation directed at Obingwa, cautioning that such strategies would not succeed in the current political environment.

“The Obingwa of yesterday is not the Obingwa of today. Nobody can come here to threaten us with promises of positions. Those days are gone,” he said.

While acknowledging the area’s rich political history, he pointed out that Obingwa has produced several high-profile public office holders, including three deputy governors, a governor, and a senator over twenty years, stressing that the people are now more politically aware and cannot be easily manipulated.

Taking a direct jab at Kalu’s grasp of governance issues, Azubuike wondered whether such statements represent the type of leadership Abians should anticipate.

“Is this how he intends to run a state? With baseless claims and empty talk?” he asked pointedly.

He also brushed aside any attempts to compare Governor Otti’s administration with that of former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, insisting that Ikpeazu is no longer part of the present conversation.

“Okezie Ikpeazu has moved on and should be left alone. He is not the issue. Governor Otti has set a benchmark that is difficult to match. Arguably the best in Nigeria today,” Azubuike asserted.

Drawing examples from outside Abia, he cited the tenure of David Umahi, explaining how purposeful leadership can turn even scarce resources into visible development, an indirect criticism of previous governance shortcomings in Abia.

In one of his sharpest attacks, Azubuike mocked Kalu’s “Signature Bank” remark, questioning both its logic and purpose.

“He said he would sweep money from Signature Bank with a broom? To where? Into a Ghana-Must-Go bag? Is there even money there?” he mocked, describing the comment as “politics of deceit and calumny.”

He further reminded his audience that Governor Otti’s qualifications go well beyond politics, highlighting his impressive achievements in banking and business before entering public office.

“Before politics, Alex Otti built institutions. Let them go and study his trajectory not just in banking, but across sectors. That’s what competence looks like,” he said.

Azubuike ended with a strong warning that the political terrain in Abia has changed significantly, emphasizing that the time of manipulation, propaganda, and unquestioned loyalty has passed.

“The people are now awake. 2027 will not be business as usual. It will be Abians versus any perceived opposition, if there is any,” he declared.

He stressed that the backing for Governor Otti stems not from blind loyalty but from tangible performance and achievements, calling his leadership “a prayer answered” and a valuable opportunity that Abians are committed to safeguarding.

“The mandate of Alex Otti is not negotiable. It is one Abians will guard jealously,” he concluded.

You Can’t Run Abia With Lies, LP Chieftain Tells Kalu is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu has met with the Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Ayo Omotayo, to discuss possible areas of collaboration.

The development was disclosed in a statement shared on April 17 2026, on the official page of the Nigeria Police Force.

According to the statement, the meeting was held at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on April 16 and focused on strengthening partnership between both institutions.

The police said discussions centred on issues relating to national security, strategic leadership, capacity development and policy support.

It was further noted that Omotayo described NIPSS as a key policy institution responsible for research and national development.

“The Inspector-General reiterated the importance of strategic collaboration in advancing national security objectives,” the statement said.

He added that the Force remains committed to intelligence-led policing and reforms aimed at improving professionalism and service delivery.

The police also noted that both institutions expressed readiness to work together in areas of research, policy development and leadership training.

IGP Disu meets NIPSS DG, explores collaboration on security

…JAMB Promises To Reschedule Affected Candidates

Parents and candidates on Friday vented frustration at the Good Success Computer-Based Test Centre, Utako, Abuja, after network failures disrupted the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for the second straight day.

A displeased parent, Mr. David Afolanyo in an interview with newsmen, said his daughter was first told on Thursday that there was no network and asked to return Friday, only to be told after waiting since 6 a.m. that she would get a text message for examination rescheduling.

Afolanyo who was expressing his frustration during the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education monitoring of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Abuja on Friday, questioned who will pay for the children to be relocated to another centre when some had already spent between N6,000 to N10,000 on transport to get to the venue.

“My daughter is writing, she was supposed to write yesterday. They said there was no network. They said we should come today to write. We came today. We’ve been here since 6 o’clock.

“They are talking about relocating the children to another center. Some children paid more than N6,000 to N10,000 as transport to get here. Who will pay for them to go there again? Who will pay for them to go there again?”, he asked.

He queried whether the lawmakers were only just realising the hitches in the UTME, pointing out that both the Senate and the House of Representatives have committees on education.

“So they want to tell me that they don’t know about this problem since three years ago?” he asked.

Similarly, a candidate named Eunice Peter who travelled from Kaduna lamented that she paid N7,000 and lodged overnight, arriving at the centre by 5 a.m only to be told she would be rescheduled.

Responding, Public Communication Advisor of JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, assured candidates whose examinations were disrupted that they would be rescheduled to write them at a later date.

Benjamin maintained that the glitches were expected, saying naturally one should expect one or two challenges when conducting an exam using one thousand centres.

“We are assuring all Nigerians that every candidate who have registered for this exam will be given the opportunity to sit this exam. If your center fails today, you will be rescheduled again to take the exam. For any reason, even when you are rescheduled, and for any reason again, you are unable to sit the examination, you will be rescheduled again.

“That is why when we finish the exam, we have what we call the mop-up. The mop-up is to ensure that candidates whose center failed and they could not take the exam, we mop them up, give them a particular date for them to sit the examination. Because it’s a contract we have entered with them, they must sit the examination.

“But we’ll continue to do our best to ensure that we have minimal failure of these centers. And that is what we are doing. Out of 957 that we are using for this examination, I’m not sure we’ve had up to 10 or 8 centers that have failed”, he added.

On his part, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Mohammed Dandutse agreed that JAMB and CBT centers were faced with a lot of challenges but promised to resolve them.

“From what we have seen, we have seen progress and we have seen a lot of challenges faced by the centres.And this one is not only in Abuja, it’s throughout the country. As a matter of fact, we sincerely appreciate what we have seen so far. Because the other issue is a technical issue, it happened yesterday and it also happened today, which was explained by the supervisor.

“But the truth of the matter, it has been a constraint to JAMB because these issues need to be addressed even before the exam takes place.

“As senators who are solely responsible for oversight and investigating the matters arising to this JAMB exam, I think we are going to look into how best JAMB will improve in most of the activities.

“We have already instructed them and told them to, as a matter of urgency, to take a definitive action so that the student will write the exam. And at the same time, we are going to review all the activities in JAMB so that we can make sure that these things do not happened again.

“So definitely we are going to address it and we are going to make sure that all the CBT centers are well functional and efficient. Because there is no moral justification for somebody to come from far away and will be living in trauma without writing the exam”, he said.

The UTME exercise which started on April 16, 2026 is on its Day 2 and will be concluded on April 22, 2026, with no fewer than 2.2 million candidates expected to sit for the examination in about 966 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres across the country .

Parents, Candidates Lament Cost Of Missed UTME After Glitches is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

The Senator representing Delta North Senatorial zone at the national assembly, Ned Nwoko, has formally declared his intention to seek re-election, reaffirming his commitment to continued representation of his constituents. Speaking with journalists on arrival at the Asaba International Airport on Friday, Nwoko said his performance in the Senate had been driven by a commitment to […]

…meets EU Parliament Vice President, Ştefănuță Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, on Friday held a diplomatic meeting with European Parliament Vice President Nicolae Ştefănuță to advocate deeper cooperation between Africa and the European Union. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ongoing 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary […]

The Accord Party has announced its nomination fees for elective offices ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that its electoral window will close on April 25.

The Lagos State Chairman of the party, Mr Dele Oladeji, revealed this in a statement issued in Lagos on Friday following the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday.

“The NEC meeting serves as the concluding meeting for the fixing of nomination fees, primary date, and the primary mode ahead of the 2027 general elections,” Oladeji said.

According to him, the approved nomination and expression of interest fees for governorship aspirants under the Accord platform are N10m and N5m, respectively.

For the Senate aspirants, Oladeji said the nomination fee was N5m while the expression of interest fees remained N2.5m.

For the House of Representatives, he said that the nomination and expression of interest fees are N3.5m and N1.5m, respectively.

Oladeji explained that aspirants for the state House of Assembly seats will pay N1m and N500,000 for nomination and expression of interest fees, respectively.

“We are also warning of the closure of the electoral window on April 25. Membership registration ends on April 26, the same as the purchase of nomination forms,” he said.

Oladeji called on Lagos residents seeking change in governance to align with the party.

“Accord is the party to vote for. If you desire a change in governance, then you need to change the party that will govern Lagos State from 2027.

“Accord is making a clarion call for patriotic change agents to join the party, contest and win, to be involved in the governance of Lagos State,” Oladeji said.

The chairman also pledged reforms in key state agencies and policies.

“Accord is leading the charge for a cleanup of bad political leadership and governance.

“We will elect patriotic leaders who will reform the state to bring a human face to governance and policies,” he said.

Oladeji added that the party’s primary elections would commence on May 21.

2027: Accord Party Sets Nomination Fees For Governorship Forms is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

The Convener of The Alternative, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has declared his intention to contest the governorship election in Ogun State in 2027, while also warning against the imposition of any candidate. Showunmi made the declaration during a visit to the secretariat of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Abeokuta, where he called on opposition parties […]

Youth Economic Intervention and De-radicalisation Programme (YEIDEP) has distanced itself from