Headlines
Atiku Tells Lagos Residents to Liberate Themselves from Family Government, Vote PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has urged Lagos residents to liberate themselves from the rule of a family government and replace it with the people’s government by voting for the party in the forthcoming elections.
The former vice president spoke on Monday during the PDP presidential campaign rally held at the Tafawa Balewa Square on Lagos Island.
Atiku, who was present with his wife, Mrs Titi Abubakar, promised to restructure the country and empower youths with Small and Medium Enterprises if elected president.
He said, “I want to give you a short history. This history is about 53 years ago, in 1969 when I first came to Lagos; there was only one Carter Bridge built by the Europeans. There was no Second Mainland Bridge, no Third Mainland Bridge, or the Tafawa Balewa Square.
“It was the Federal Government that built the Second and Third Mainland Bridges and rebuilt the Carter Bride, Agege Motor Road, Ikorodu, and all the major roads connecting the island with the mainland. Now the APC government is claiming that they developed Lagos; they did not develop Lagos at all. They are lying to you.
“Therefore, it is time for you the people of Lagos to liberate yourself from a family government to the people’s government, and that people’s government is going to be led by Jandor.
“People of Lagos, it is high time you took your destiny into your own hands for your future, not for the future of one family. In the last 23 years, you have been governed by one family and it is your right and your duty to take over that governance and hand it over to yourselves that is what the PDP stands for.
“On my own part, if you elect me as president, I promise by the grace of God, I am going to set aside $10bn so that we can empower our young men and women in SMEs. People were asking me where I was going to get that money. If I privatise Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, I am going to get that money.
“Let me also promise you, if you vote for the PDP government we will restructure this country. What do we mean by that? We will give your states and local governments more power and resources, so it is up to you to hold them responsible.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the postings of 31 career and 34 non-career ambassadors to various countries and the United Nations. The Senate confirmed the ambassadors-designate last December.
POSTINGS OF NON-CAREER AMBASSADORS / HIGH COMMISSIONERS
S/N NAME MISSION APPROVED
1. SENATOR GRACE BENT: LOME-TOGO
2. SEN. ITA ENANG: SOUTH AFRICA
3. IKPEAZU VICTOR: SPAIN
4. NKECHI LINDA UFOCHUKWU: TEL-AVIV, ISRAEL
5. MAHMUD YAKUBU: QATAR
6. PAUL OGA ADIKWU: THE VATICAN CITY HOLY SEE
7. VICE ADMIRAL IBOK-ETE EKWE IBAS: THE PHILIPPINES
8. MR. RENO OMOKRI: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
9. HON. (ENGR.) ABASI BRAIMAH (FMHR): BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
10. MRS. ERELU ANGELA ADEBAYO: PORTUGAL
11. BARR. OLUMILUA OLUWAYIMIKA AYOTUNWA: TOKYO, JAPAN
12. RT. HON. UGWUANYI IFEANYI LAWRENCE: ATHENS, GREECE
13. BARR. CHIOMA PRISCILLA OHAKIM: WARSAW, POLAND
14. AMINU DALHATU: UNITED KINGDOM, UK
15. LT. GEN ABDULRAHMAN BELLO DAMBAZAU: BEIJING, CHINA
16. HON. TASIU MUSA MAIGARI: GAMBIA
17. OLUFEMI PEDRO: AUSTRALIA
18. BARR. MUHAMMED UBANDOMA ALIYU: ARGENTINA
19. LATEEF KAYODE ARE: USA
20. AMB. JOSEPH SOLA IJI: RUSSIA
21. SEN. JIMOH IBRAHIM: UN PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE
22. FEMI FANI KAYODE: GERMANY
23. PROF. ISAAK FOLORUNSO ADEWOLE: OTTAWA, CANADA
24. AJIMOBI FATIMA FLORENCE (F): AUSTRIA
25. MRS. LOLA AKANDE (F): SWEDEN
26. AYODELE OKE: FRANCE
27. YAKUBU N. GAMBO: SAUDI ARABIA
28. SENATOR PROF. NORA LADI DADUUT: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
29. BARR. ONUEZE CHUKWUJIKA JOE OKOCHA SAN: DUBLIN
30. DR. KULU HARUNA ABUBAKAR: TUNIS, TUNISIA
31. RT. HON. JERRY SAMUEL MANWE: PORT OF SPAIN, T&T
POSTINGS OF CAREER AMBASSADORS / HIGH COMMISSIONERS LIST
S/N NAME MISSION APPROVED
1. AMB. NWABIOLA EZENWA CHUKWUMEKA: COTE D’IV/OIRE
2. BESTO MAIMUNA IBRAHIM: NIAMEY-NIGER
3. MONICA OKWUCHUKWU ENEBECHI: SAO TOME, STP
4. AMB. MOHAMMED MAHMUD LELE: ALGIERS-ALGERIA
5. ENDONI SYNDOPH PAEBI: OUAGADOUGOU-BURKINA FASO
6. AHMED MOHAMMED MONGUNO: CAIRO EGYPT
7. AMB.JANE ADAMS (NEE OKON) MICHAEL (F): KINGSTON-JAMAICA
8. AMB. CLARK-OMERU ALEXANDRA (F): LUSAKA-ZAMBIA
9. CHIMA GEOGGREY LIOMA DAVID: BAMAKO-MALI
10. AMB. ODUMAH YVONNE EHINOSEN: MALABO –E/GUINEA
11. AMB WASA SEGUN IGE: BEIRUT, LEBANON
12. RUBEN ABIMBOLA SAMUEL (F): ROME, ITALY
13. AMB.ONAGA OGECHUKWU KINGSLEY: MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE
14. AMB.MAGAJI UMAR: KINSASHA, DR CONGO
15. AMB.MUHAMMAD SAIDU DAHIRU: NEW DELHI-INDIA
16. AMB. ABDUSSALAM HABU ZAYYAD: DAKAR-SENEGAL
17. AMB SHEHU ILU BARDE: ACCRA GHANA
18. AMB.AMINU NASIR: ETHIOPIA
19. ABUBAKAR MUSA MUSA: N’DJAMENA, CHAD
20. AMB. HAIDARA MOHAMMED IDRIS: THE HAGUE-NETHERLANDS
21. AMB.BAKO ADAMU UMAR: RABAT-MOROCCO
22. AMB. SULU GAMBARI OLATUNJI AHMED: MALAYSIA
23. AMB.ROMATA MOHAMMED OMOBOLANLE (F): TANZANIA
24. AMB. SHAGA JOHN SHAMAH: BOTSWANA
25. SALAU, HAMZA MOHAMMED: TEHRAN, IRAN
26. AMB.IBRAHIM DANLAMI: KENYA
27. IBRAHIM ADEOLA MOPELOLA (F): COTONOU-BENIN
28. AMB.AYENI ADEBAYO EMMANUEL: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
29. AMB.AKANDE WAHAB ADEKOLA: BERNE-SWITZERLAND
30. AMB. AREWA (NEE ADEDOKUN) ESTHER (F): WINDHOEK-NAMIBIA
31. AMB.GERGADI JOSEPH JOHN: LIBREVILLE-GABON
32. AMB. LUTHER OGBOMODE AYO-KALATA (F): SIERRA LEONE
33. DANLADI YAKUBU NYAKU : KHARTOUM-SUDAN
34. BELLO DOGON-DAJI HALIRU: BANGKOK, THAILAND
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already received agrément from the United Kingdom for the High Commissioner-designate, Ambassador Aminu Dalhatu. Similarly, France has sent the agrément for Ambassador Ayo Oke.
The Ministry has also conveyed the nominations of the other 62 designated envoys to all the countries concerned, including a request for their agréments in line with standard diplomatic practice.
President Tinubu has directed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately commence the induction programme for the ambassadors-designate and High Commissioners.
Bayo Onanuga,
Special Adviser to the President,
(Information and Strategy)
March 6, 2026.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted bail to the former Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, his son Abdulaziz Malami, and his wife Asabe Bashir in the sum of N200 million each and two sureties in like sum.
As part of the bail conditions, one of the sureties is to deposit title deeds of properties in highbrow Maitama or Asokoro.
The defendants have been ordered to deposit their international passports with the court.
They are to remain in the custody of the Nigerian correctional service pending perfection of their bail conditions.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter until March 16 for the commencement of the trial.
Headlines
Israeli Ambassador Accuses Iran of Spreading Terror, Sponsoring Extremist Activities in Nigeria
Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, has accused Iran of sponsoring extremist activities in Nigeria and other parts of the world, alleging that Tehran supports groups aimed at destabilising countries while pursuing its hostility against Israel.
Freeman made the remarks on Friday while speaking during an interview on The Morning Show on Arise News.
The envoy claimed that Iran is the only country within the United Nations that openly expresses a desire to destroy another sovereign state, referring to repeated threats against Israel.
According to him, the Iranian government has, over several decades, supported militant groups and terror organisations around the world in pursuit of that objective.
Freeman alleged that Iran has backed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, adding that Tehran was also behind the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas against Israel.
He further claimed that Iranian activities aimed at spreading instability have been observed across several regions, including Europe, Australia, and parts of Africa.
Speaking specifically about Nigeria, the Israeli ambassador alleged that the Islamic Movement of Nigeria receives backing from the Iranian government.
According to Freeman, statements of support from Iran’s leadership, including posts by Ali Khamenei on social media, have openly indicated such ties.
He said: “The issue here is about Iran. Iran is the only country in the world, in the United Nations, who expressly desires to wipe another country off the face of the earth. Iran has stated its very policy is to destroy Israel. Is to wipe Israel off the map is to make sure they kill every single person and no regime, no country that has an express desire to destroy Israel, and it’s not only an expressed desire.
“We’ve seen over 47 years, they’ve taken all the actions they can in order for that to happen. We’ve seen them sponsor terror organizations. They were behind October the seventh massacre of Hamas. We’ve seen them sponsoring Hezbollah. We’ve seen them acting in Europe. We’ve seen them acting in Australia. We’ve seen them acting in Nigeria.
“We’ve seen these people acting all across the world in order to spread disturbance for them to try and carry out their aim of destroying Israel, and Israel will not allow another country to have nuclear weapons when they’ve expressly stated they want those weapons to destroy Israel”.
“I think that it is well documented. We know that there are certain movements, for example, the Islamic movement of Nigeria is sponsored and is backed by the Iranian regime. This is not me saying this, we’ve seen that documented by the Iranian regime.
“The Supreme Leader posted on X his support and his backing there. So that’s very open. And there are other areas as well that Iran is working for, destabilizing, not only Nigeria, but all of West Africa.”
