The morning recap on Friday’s stories dwells partly on the upcoming 2027 presidential election as President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress gear up for the former’s re-election campaign in Kaduna State.
The APC is making efforts to secure support across the North, which accounts for 56.01 million of Nigeria’s 103.43 million registered voters — 54% of all registered voters.
Meanwhile, top opposition figure and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has requested the immediate publication of the preliminary voters’ register.
Atiku, contesting on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, noted that the failure of Nigeria’s electoral umpire — the Independent National Electoral Commission — to display the list online could undermine confidence in the 2027 general election.
Also, as part of efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak, the Federal Government, through the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, has directed hospitals nationwide to prepare isolation beds and strengthen infection prevention measures, warning that 15 states are yet to update their response plans.
The recap in full:
1. 2027 election: Tinubu eyes North’s 56 million voters
President Bola Tinubu and leaders of the All Progressives Congress will on Saturday kick off the President’s re-election campaign in Kaduna State, as the ruling party intensifies efforts to secure support across the North, which accounts for 56.01 million of Nigeria’s 103.43 million registered voters.
With 31 state governors and other party chieftains expected at the campaign flag-off, the APC is banking on what its leaders describe as a growing consensus among northern stakeholders and voters to secure Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The party has also set an ambitious target of mobilising 40 million votes through grassroots engagement, particularly among women, with its leaders expressing confidence that Nigerians will support the President for a second term.
Read more here.
2. 2027: Atiku presses INEC to release 103m voters’ register
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate publication of the preliminary voters’ register, warning that the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission to display the list online could undermine confidence in the 2027 general election.
Atiku, in a statement on Thursday issued by the Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said Nigerians were entitled to inspect the register, challenge questionable entries and correct omissions before the election.
“INEC has announced more than 103 million registered voters. Nigerians went to its portal to inspect the names and found an empty page. That is an outrage. A figure cannot answer an objection. A press announcement cannot tell a voter whether her name has been omitted. Show Nigerians the register,” he said.
Read more here.
3. Ebola: FG warns 15 states to speed up readiness
The Federal Government has directed hospitals nationwide to prepare isolation beds and strengthen infection prevention measures as part of efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak, warning that 15 states are yet to update their response plans.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, gave the directive in Abuja during a press briefing on the government’s response to the outbreak, saying health facilities had been instructed to make adequate provisions for suspected cases and protect frontline health workers.
Again, while briefing the National Economic Council, he said 21 states had already accelerated preparations and strengthened their capacity to respond to the possible spread of the disease and warned the remaining 15 states to speed up their preparations.
Read more here.
4. You impoverished Nigerians, Obasanjo attacks Tinubu’s reforms
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has accused President Bola Tinubu of making every Nigerian poor by 300 per cent through the devaluation of the naira, saying the policy has turned Nigeria into “the poverty capital of the world.”
Obasanjo spoke on Wednesday at the Financial Times Africa Summit 2026 in London, United Kingdom.
He said the naira lost its value overnight due to economic reforms undertaken by the Tinubu administration in 2023.
The statesman argued, “We do not live in isolation as a country. We interact with the rest of the world. And overnight, you devalue the currency by 300 per cent. The naira went from N500 to a dollar to N1,500 to a dollar. What that meant was that every Nigerian is made poor by 300 per cent.”
Read more here.
5. Heavyweight champ Hrgovic begs Joshua to retire
IBF heavyweight champion Filip Hrgovic has urged Anthony Joshua to retire, saying he feels sorry for the British-Nigerian and believes he should never fight again.
Joshua is preparing for the biggest fight of his career, a long-awaited showdown with fellow Briton Tyson Fury in Cardiff on Friday, December 11. Hrgovic, however, insists the two-time heavyweight world champion is finished.
Speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show, the Croatian said Joshua is only taking the fight because of the money on offer.
Read more here.