Author: Citynews

The Presidency has said Atiku Abubakar’s proposed petrol subsidy plan could cost Nigeria N19.1 trillion annually if implemented, arguing that the policy would place a huge burden on the country’s finances. Otega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Digital and New Media, disclosed this while appearing on a TVC News programme on Tuesday. This came days after Atiku declared that he will restore subsidy if elected president in 2027. Ogra said the estimate was based on crude oil selling at about $80 per barrel, with Nigeria having to subsidise roughly $40 per barrel. “So calculate that. It comes to…

Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant for the 2027 election, Abayomi Hunye, has questioned how the party could suspend him and still sell him the nomination form for ₦50 million. CityNews recalls that the APC disowned Hunye, who claims to be its Ogun governorship candidate for the 2027 election, and reaffirmed Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the duly recognised candidate. However, speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Hunye said he received the necessary forms, completed the documentation and passed the screening process. Hunye said he was number 52 on the screening list,…

The African Action Congress, AAC, presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore says he would make Nigeria’s four refineries work if elected president in 2027. Sowore made the pledge on Tuesday when he featured in an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time. He attributed the non-operational status of the government-owned refineries to corruption and the misappropriation of funds by previous administrations. According to him, if Nigeria refines crude oil locally, it could achieve significant cost savings and create job opportunities for the teeming youths. “There are four refineries in Nigeria, and I can make them work. If we are refining locally, even if we save…

Zenith Bank Plc hosted the 10th edition of its International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, marking a decade of sustained advocacy for the diversification of Nigeria’s economy. The virtual event brought together policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers, investors and development partners from across Africa and beyond, all focused on one question: how Nigeria can earn more from what it sells to the world. Held under the theme “Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth”, the seminar examined how Nigeria can move beyond exporting raw commodities to building competitive value chains, strengthening trade infrastructure and financing, and deepening the…

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday expressed dismay over the poor global ranking of African universities, describing the trend as a major obstacle to the continent’s technological and industrial advancement. Jonathan expressed the concern while delivering a lecture titled “Harnessing Industrial Capacity for Inclusive Growth and Regional Stability in Africa” to participants of the National Defence College Course 34 in Abuja. The former Nigerian President pointed out that Africa would not achieve meaningful technological development and industrialisation without strengthening its education system and establishing specialised universities capable of producing the skilled manpower required to drive innovation. He lamented that no…

KEY TAKEAWAYS Oyo State Government protested the Federal Government’s flag-off of the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road dualisation at Idi Ayunre without inviting Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde. Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said the exclusion had a political undertone tied to 2027, and called it partisan politics. Prince Dotun Oyelade rejected claims Makinde’s leave justified the snub, saying an Acting Governor could represent the state, and he said Makinde stayed unperturbed. The Oyo State government has protested the exclusion of Governor Seyi Makinde from the flag-off of the dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road in Oluyole Local Government Area of the state.…

Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi on Monday told African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore to close his mouth during a heated exchange at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt. The exchange occurred during a presidential aspirants’ session at the conference, where Amaechi was speaking about his achievements. Sowore reportedly attempted to interrupt Amaechi while he was making his remarks, prompting the former governor to respond. Amaechi said, “Where are Rivers lawyers, let them take Sowore around and show him what I did as a former Governor. Moreover, Sowore when…

The senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has urged opposition presidential candidates to make President Bola Tinubu’s performance in office, rather than his academic credentials, the central issue of the 2027 election campaign. Ndume said the renewed controversy over Tinubu’s educational records was distracting political parties from issues that directly affect Nigerians. The All Progressive Congress senator made the remarks in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, where he argued that opposition candidates should present concrete alternatives to the policies of the Tinubu administration instead of dwelling on the President’s certificates. “The narrative around his certificate is distracting. What…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of hypocrisy over its handling of petroleum-sector interventions, arguing that the government cannot claim to have abolished subsidy while simultaneously granting tax credits, concessions and other fiscal incentives to major operators in the oil and gas industry. Atiku, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the administration’s celebration of subsidy removal was misleading because Nigerians had continued to bear the cost of government interventions in the petroleum sector through various forms of under-recovery and energy-security expenditure. He…

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Accord have traded accusations over a shooting at a motor park in Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area, which left a commercial driver and a passenger dead. The APC alleged that political thugs linked to Accord abducted and tortured one of its members, Sunkanmi Abiodun, at a motor park before attacking police officers who responded to a distress call. Accord, however, accused the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, of Irewole Division, Bamidele Olatona, of opening fire on unarmed civilians. The APC, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and…