The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, has warned that the price of petrol could soar to N5,000 per litre if President Bola Tinubu secures a second term in office. Adebayo handed down this warning in a statement issued by his campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Mark Adebayo, on Wednesday. He insisted that the projected increase is a mathematical certainty based on the economic trajectory of the current administration. The opposition politician attributed the looming price surge to the Federal Government’s aggressive deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. He noted that the policy, combined with the floating of the naira, has left the nation`s energy security at the mercy of volatile market forces. According to him, Nigeria’s continuous dependence on imported petrol—which is priced strictly in US dollars—means that any further weakening of the local currency will automatically inflate pump prices. He cautioned that without local refining capacity, citizens will continue to bear the brunt of currency depreciation. Providing a breakdown of the projection, Adebayo stated that if the exchange rate depreciates to N3,500 to a dollar in the coming years, the landing cost of petrol alone would cross the N4,000 threshold. Additional distribution margins and retail costs would comfortably push the final pump price to N5,000. The SDP candidate strongly criticised the total removal of fuel subsidies, arguing that the policy leaves vulnerable consumers entirely unprotected. He stated that the government failed to establish adequate safety nets before exposing the economy to the vagaries of global crude oil prices. Adebayo further warned that a N5,000 fuel price would trigger an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis across the country. He explained that skyrocketed transportation costs would immediately drive up the prices of food, pharmaceuticals, and other essential commodities. He concluded by identifying high interest rates, port clearing bottlenecks, and severe distribution inefficiencies as compounding factors. He urged the administration to review its fiscal and monetary strategies to save the citizens from impending economic hardship.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has hit back at governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing them as "politically lazy" for opposing his newly formed Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections. Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Tuesday, Wike clarified that his alliance with President Bola Tinubu does not mean he has abandoned his political independence or conceded that other parties should not contest fiercely. The backlash follows a declaration by APC governors, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, stating they would not support or endorse any political alliance that could undermine the President’s re-election bid or threaten APC candidates across the country. Dismissing their concerns, the former Rivers State governor urged the state executives to face their internal challenges instead of hiding behind the presidency. “They are politically lazy," Wike stated. "When you have your local problems, don’t use Mr President as your excuse.” Wike noted that the friction surrounding his political moves is nothing new, recalling how the same forces opposed him during his tenure as governor and over his appointment as FCT minister. “This thing did not start today. It started at a ministerial position. They were not happy that I was Minister of FCT. Also, they were unhappy when I was governor,” he said. Insisting that he possesses superior political foresight, the minister asserted that his critics lack the depth of information available to him to understand the broader political landscape.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has fiercely questioned the President Bola Tinubu-led administration over the utilization of trillions of Naira saved from the petrol subsidy removal. This intervention follows a fresh, record-breaking spike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to a staggering N1,470 per litre across the country. In a strongly-worded statement released by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku raised the alarm over the continuous, unchecked escalation of fuel prices. He argued that the current pricing regime has completely crushed the purchasing power of regular Nigerians and plunged millions deeper into an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. The opposition leader stressed that the latest price hike is not an isolated economic metric but an aggressive burden on everyday households. He noted that because Nigeria’s informal economy relies heavily on petrol, the immediate consequence of the hike has already manifested in a drastic surge in transportation costs and food prices. Atiku fundamentally challenged the economic rationale behind the painful removal of the petrol subsidy, demanding to know why the resulting financial windfalls have not been deployed to cushion the economy. He noted that the citizens, who were promised immediate relief and infrastructure development in exchange for their sacrifice, have instead been left completely vulnerable to severe economic hardship. "Petrol at N1,470 per litre is not merely a figure at the filling station," Atiku stated. "It enters the price of transportation, food, school runs, farming, manufacturing, and virtually everything Nigerians buy. After all the pain imposed on Nigerians, they have a legitimate right to ask: where are the subsidy savings, and where is the money?" Drawing a historic economic parallel, the former Vice President highlighted a stark paradox between the current administration`s energy policies and those of past leaderships. He recalled that during the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2008, global crude oil prices peaked at a historic high of roughly $147 per barrel, yet domestic petrol was maintained at a heavily stabilized rate of N65 per litre. In contrast, Atiku pointed out that with global crude oil currently trading at a significantly lower rate of around $102.52 per barrel, Nigerians are paradoxically being forced to pay an exorbitant N1,470 per litre. This massive discrepancy, he argued, highlights a severe failure in regulatory oversight and structural economic management by the current government. Atiku concluded his address by asserting that the sharp contrast between 2008 and today proves a fundamental divergence in governance philosophies. He emphasized that the Yar’Adua administration succeeded because it firmly understood that macro-economic policies must ultimately serve as a shield to protect, rather than exploit, the welfare and survival of its citizens.

The frontline presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has rejected calls to return to the controversial fuel subsidy regime. Instead, he is proposing a domestic crude pricing framework to slash petrol costs across the country. Speaking on Monday at the commissioning of the APM Presidential Campaign Office in Abuja, Makinde outlined a distinct third path ahead of the 2027 general elections. He directly challenged both the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and the subsidy-restoration promise of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. Makinde clarified that his "Reset Nigeria" agenda does not aim to revive the opaque, pre-May 2023 subsidy structure. Rather, he argued that crude oil allocated to local refineries should reflect Nigeria`s status as a top oil producer. "If a community grows food, the people of that community should not have to buy that food as though it travelled halfway around the world," Makinde argued. "So why should crude oil supplied to Nigerian refineries be priced as though Nigeria does not produce crude oil?" He insisted that relief for citizens must be engineered at the point of crude supply, rather than via "opaque interventions" at the filling station pump after inefficiencies and distribution costs have piled up. Positioning himself as a reformist, the APM candidate promised total transparency across the petroleum value chain if elected. He challenged the status quo, stating that the current system lacks clarity. "It means that we stop accepting systems that nobody can explain. It means that government must show its workings," Makinde said. He promised that a Reset Nigeria administration would lay bare the costs of production, domestic allocation, refining, and retail margins so citizens know exactly what they are paying for. Addressing critics who have written off his third-party candidacy against the major political heavyweights, Makinde drew parallels to his political journey in Oyo State. He recalled how entrenched political forces doubted his gubernatorial ambitions, only for the electorate to prove them wrong. He noted that dismissing his campaign means dismissing the shared struggles of everyday traders, farmers, youths, and small-business owners who are bearing the brunt of erratic fuel pricing. "They may discount one candidate. But they cannot discount millions of Nigerians united behind a better future," Makinde declared, urging Nigerians to join the conversation and become "Resetters" ahead of the 2027 polls.

Barely months before the 2027 general elections, a wave of discontent hit the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State on Monday, as mobilised supporters staged a protest over an alleged N3,000 disbursement at a pro-Tinubu campaign rally. The aggrieved participants, who wore APC-branded shirts, openly revolted against party coordinators, describing the money as “meagre” and insufficient to cover their logistics. The protest erupted shortly after the party inaugurated a major support structure aimed at mobilizing grassroots voters for the reelection campaign of President Bola Tinubu. In a video clip that has since gone viral on social media, the disgruntled supporters, speaking in Hausa, expressed deep frustration over what they described as unfair treatment by party mobilisers. According to spokespersons among the protesters, many attendees had to borrow money to fund their transportation to the venue, expecting a reasonable refund, only to be handed N3,000 each. “If you people keep giving us N3,000 for the APC campaign, we won’t come again,” one of the angry supporters warned in the footage. “Some of us borrowed transport fare to come to the campaign ground, and they are only paying us N3,000. It cannot even take us back home.” The incident has raised immediate concerns among local political analysts regarding the effectiveness and transparency of grassroots mobilisation funding within the state chapter of the ruling party. As Kano remains a critical voting bloc in the upcoming 2027 presidential race, the public fallout from the cash distribution row could force the APC leadership to review its strategy to prevent voter apathy ahead of the general elections. At the time of filing this report, the Kano State chapter of the APC has not issued an official statement regarding the viral footage or the allegations made by the protesters.

African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Dino Melaye, has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu, Mocking him as a "universal person of particular interest" due to discrepancies in his academic credentials. In a sharp post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday, the former Kogi West Senator ridiculed the President`s educational background, describing him as the only man on earth who possesses a university degree but completely lacks basic school qualifications. The controversy stems from the personal particulars President Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the upcoming 2027 presidential election. While Tinubu successfully submitted his university credentials, the mandatory sections for his primary and secondary school certificates were left completely blank. This glaring omission has reignited a fierce national debate regarding the minimum constitutional qualifications required to hold the highest office in the land. Melaye capitalized heavily on this administrative gap to mock the President`s academic trajectory, using satire to question the authenticity of his educational background. “Tinubu is universally a person of particular interest. The only one on earth with a maximum qualification without minimum qualification. He is so intelligent that he attended university without primary and secondary school education,” Melaye tweeted to his followers. The missing credentials have ignited fierce debates across Nigeria, split along deep legal, political, and ethical lines. Citizens from all walks of life have taken to public spheres and digital platforms to express their concerns, turning the President`s election documentation into a central point of national scrutiny. The development has put the presidency back on the defensive as opposition figures weaponize the paperwork ahead of the political season. A vocal segment of the Nigerian populace insists that the inability to provide primary and secondary school certificates fundamentally violates statutory requirements. Legal experts and critics argue that skipping foundational educational disclosures disqualifies Tinubu from holding the presidency or seeking re-election. They argue that strict compliance with INEC guidelines is non-negotiable for all candidates, regardless of their current status. Consequently, public pressure is mounting from various civil rights quarters and opposition groups demanding immediate political accountability. Some coalitions have gone as far as calling for the President`s immediate resignation, asserting that he should withdraw from the 2027 general elections entirely to preserve the integrity of the democratic process. These groups argue that Nigeria cannot afford another prolonged tenure overshadowed by certificate controversies. Conversely, supporters of the administration maintain that the President`s verified tertiary education satisfies the legal threshold required to contest the office. Legal defenders of the status quo point out that under Nigerian electoral jurisprudence, higher qualifications generally supersede or validate the presumption of basic education. They dismiss the ongoing uproar and Melaye`s commentary as mere political theater designed to distract from the administration`s policy execution. As the political atmosphere heats up ahead of the 2027 general elections, INEC finds itself under intense scrutiny regarding how it validates candidate submissions. With prominent opposition figures like Melaye keeping the spotlight firmly on the President`s documentation, the issue of academic credentials promises to remain a volatile battleground in the months ahead.

Oyo State Governor and African People’s Movement presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, has declared that Nigeria’s ongoing debate over the petrol subsidy is focused on the wrong question. He argued that the nation must urgently review its underlying petroleum pricing framework to provide relief to citizens. The governor made his position known in the September 2026 edition of his newsletter, The Business of Governance, which was uploaded on Friday. In the publication, Makinde emphasized that the federal government owes citizens absolute clarity regarding how domestic fuel prices are calculated. According to Makinde, the conversation should shift away from whether the subsidy should be restored or remain removed. He maintained that the core issue is establishing a pricing system that allows Nigerians to benefit fairly from the natural resources they rightfully own. The Oyo State Governor insisted that a proper pricing framework must clearly disclose all hidden variables determining pump prices. He noted that the public deserves to know the exact crude oil price benchmarks, actual refining costs, and profit margins being utilized. Furthermore, Makinde demanded full transparency regarding exchange-rate assumptions, logistics costs, distribution margins, and the various taxes and levies embedded in current fuel prices. He argued that without this data, Nigerians cannot understand the real factors driving up their cost of living. The presidential candidate strongly criticized the argument that domestic fuel prices must rise simply to discourage smuggling into neighbouring countries. He described the policy as an unfair transfer of regulatory and security failures onto ordinary citizens. “We should also reject the argument that Nigerians must pay more for petroleum products simply to eliminate the price difference that makes smuggling into neighbouring countries profitable,” Makinde stated. He added that the public should not bear the financial burden of the government’s inability to secure its national borders. Looking forward, the governor promised to advance the national discourse by providing a concrete alternative to the current system. Makinde announced that he will present a comprehensive petroleum pricing framework in the coming weeks for Nigerians to assess and debate.

The Yobe State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Mohammed Gadaka, has withdrawn a controversial statement urging married women to divorce their husbands if barred from voting for the ruling party. The initial comment, made on Thursday during a defection rally in Nangere town, sparked massive backlash across the state. Islamic scholars and residents swiftly condemned the remarks as "reckless" and a threat to family values. In his speech, Gadaka had gone as far as pledging to pay the "new bride price" for any woman who dissolved her marriage over party allegiance. Following the widespread outrage, Gadaka issued a 42-second video apology via the Facebook page of Mamman Mohammed, the Director-General of Press and Media Affairs to Governor Mai Mala Buni. In his retraction, the APC chairman claimed his statement was misconstrued, framing it as cultural teasing rather than political directive. Gadaka explained the comment was "joking banter" rooted in traditional teasing between his ethnic group, the Ngamo, and the Kare-Kare people. "My statement... does not in any way represent the ideals I stand for or intended to encourage divorce among married people," Gadaka stated. "I offer apologies for my statement, and I hereby withdraw it." While political observers note the retraction was forced by mounting criticism ahead of the general elections, it remains unclear if the initial comment was triggered by actual reports of husbands restricting their wives` voting choices.

The political feud between Nigeria`s major political actors deepened on Tuesday as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar accused President Bola Tinubu of economic inconsistency. Atiku alleged that the administration dismissed his recommendations for reducing the cost of living, only to rebrand and present the same objectives under its "Renewed Hope" agenda. In a sharply worded statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president criticized the federal government’s sudden policy shifts. He argued that the presidency cannot logicality condemn opposition policies as backward while simultaneously promoting similar interventions as progressive relief measures. Dismissing recent presidential critiques, the statement clarified that Atiku remains focused on engaging the millions of Nigerians currently bearing the brunt of severe economic pressures. “Atiku has more important people to engage directly: the mother struggling to feed her children; the civil servant whose salary disappears into transportation; the farmer paying more to move produce to market; the student being pushed into debt simply to remain in school; and millions of Nigerians whose daily reality bears no resemblance to the prosperity advertised in your tweets,” the statement read. The core of Atiku`s critique targeted the administration`s conflicting stances on energy subsidies and public welfare intervention. He questioned why the presidency initial labeled his energy cost-reduction proposals as "a return to the past," yet recently promised to deploy cheaper transportation, boost food production, and roll out direct relief packages within weeks. “Bola, why now?” Atiku questioned, highlighting that citizens have endured over three years of skyrocketing transport fares, crushing food inflation, and stagnant wages that lose purchasing power monthly. He noted that families nationwide have been forced to skip meals, pull children out of schools, and skip medical treatments just to survive. Atiku challenged the narrative that citizens needed to endure prolonged economic hardship before the administration realized that growth must translate to the dining tables and pockets of ordinary Nigerians. “Throughout that period, your government repeatedly told Nigerians that their suffering was the unavoidable price of reform. Now, suddenly, cheaper transportation has become urgent," Atiku said. "Why is intervention backward when Atiku proposes it, but progressive when you announce it? You cannot condemn cheaper living when Atiku proposes it and rename the same objective Renewed Hope when you promise it. That is not economic consistency. It is political convenience.”

A wave of condemnation has hit the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following inflammatory statements by key government officials who threatened physical assault and forced eviction against citizens who refuse to support the party in the 2027 general elections. The latest controversy involves the Borno State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Sainna Buba, who was captured in a viral video threatening to physically flog individuals who oppose the ruling party. Speaking at a campaign inauguration organized by the Tinubu City Boy Movement—a political support group advocating for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election—Buba stated that while the party is currently using persuasion, it would not hesitate to deploy force. “In politics, sometimes things go smoothly, sometimes it goes with persuasion, and sometimes it goes with force," Buba said in the trending clip. "Right now, we are being persuasive, but we’ve noticed they are throwing jabs at us on TikTok. As for those who refuse to follow us, they will be flogged." He added, "If they point fingers at us with malicious intent, then we will hold that finger and break it. This government is our government; follow us and enjoy honey." Buba`s comments follow a similar controversial declaration by the Chairman of the Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Samuel Shekwolo. In a separate video circulating on social media, Shekwolo warned residents who do not intend to vote for the APC to pack their bags and leave the council area before the 2027 polls. Shekwolo justified his stance by pointing to the infrastructure projects executed by President Tinubu and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike in Kuje, arguing that residents cannot benefit from government interventions and vote for the opposition. These incidents mirror an earlier dispute in Osun State, where the lawmaker representing Osun East, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, faced intense public backlash over hostile remarks aimed at Accord Party members. Although Governor Ademola Adeleke called for the lawmaker`s arrest and the Osun State Police Command subsequently interrogated him, Fadahunsi later claimed his statements were misconstrued and that he only meant defeating the opposition at the ballot box. The escalating rhetoric has triggered sharp reactions from civil society organizations (CSOs) and political analysts, who warn that undemocratic remarks by public officers could incite electoral violence and voter intimidation. Legal experts note that threatening voters violates the provisions of the Electoral Act and undermines the constitutional guarantee of free association. With the 2027 election cycle drawing closer, stakeholders are calling on party leadership and security agencies to penalize state actors using inflammatory language to suppress democratic choices.