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Group Rejects APC’s Choice, Gbajabiamila, for House Speaker, Endorses Wase
Elders under the aegis of North Central Elders Forum have formerly endorsed the Deputy House Leader of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, for the seat of the speaker in the ninth assembly.
The forum made its stand known on Tuesday at a press conference in Abuja.
Muhammadu Ari-Gwaska, who spoke for the group, said after due consultations, the forum decided to adopt its most senior member for the position.
He said he was optimistic that Umaru Bago, another aspirant from the zone, would step down for his “senior brother”.
He went further to say the North Central geo-political zone in its diverse nature and peaceful disposition had always been predisposed to being shortchanged in power sharing.
“The people of this zone have over the years molded our diversity into a strong quilt that has strengthened us with the capacity to engage and interrogate the exogenous manipulation of power, leadership and patronage among the comity of nations to bring into sharp focus the understanding of our place as a bridge in the Nigerian Project,” he said.
He appealed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) hierarchy to as a matter of deliberate policy, give the speakership to the geo-political zone.
This he said was for the purpose of fairness, equity, justice, unity and loyalty as necessary ingredients in forming a government that will effectively drive the agenda of the party.
Mr. Wase, who is yet to formally declare his intention to run for the position, will be facing some of his colleagues in the race.
They include the Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, Mukhtar Betara, Abdulrazak Namdas and Umar Bago.
The APC leadership recently declared support for Yobe senator, Ahmed Lawan, for Senate President. The party is also believed to be in support of Mr Gbajabiamila for Speaker.
The adoption of Mr Lawan was condemned by some APC lawmakers, including Borno senator, Ali Ndume, who also seeks to be the Senate president.
Mr Ndume has vowed to continue with his ambition, saying he enjoys the support of many APC senators-elect.
The APC enjoys a clear majority in the incoming House of Representatives, winning over 200 of the 360 seats.
The party is expected to produce the Speaker, but as it happened in 2015, a different candidate other than that endorsed by the party leadership may contest the election.
While both Messrs Lawan and Gbajabiamila were endorsed by the party for the positions in 2015, Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara emerged as the Senate President and Speaker of the House respectively.
The two winners later defected from the APC to the PDP.
Premium Times
Nigerian sprint star, Favour Ofili, made history on Saturday by breaking the world record in the women’s 150 metres at the 2025 Adidas Atlanta City Games, clocking an astonishing 15.85 seconds (2.0m/s) at Piedmont Park.
At just 22 years old, Ofili became the first woman to ever run the 150m in under 16 seconds, smashing the previous record of 16.23 seconds set by Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas in 2018.
Her performance headlined a strong Nigerian showing at the prestigious street meet, which brought together elite global athletes in a vibrant, open-air setting designed to engage fans up close.
Reacting to her historic moment, she wrote on X: “For the lord is Good.”
Also shining on the day was world record holder and 100m hurdles champion Tobi Amusan, who finished second in her heat with a time of 12.53 seconds behind American Keni Harrison (12.44s), securing a place in the final. Amusan’s run continues her steady build-up for the upcoming championship season, having already posted 12.74s and 12.66s in previous meets in Xiamen and Keqiao.
Meanwhile, Nigerian sprinter Udodi Onwuzurike clocked a season’s best of 10.20 seconds in his 100m heat, finishing second to South Africa’s Akani Simbine (10.13s). The performance was enough to book Onwuzurike a spot in the final, signalling a strong resurgence in his 2025 campaign.
Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was diagnosed on Friday with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his office said in a statement on Sunday.
The diagnosis came after Mr. Biden reported urinary symptoms, which led doctors to find a “small nodule” on his prostate. Mr. Biden’s cancer is “characterized by a Gleason score of 9” with “metastasis to the bone,” the statement said.
The Gleason score is used to describe how prostate cancers look under a microscope; 9 and 10 are the most aggressive. The cancer is Stage 4, which means it has spread.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” according to the statement from Mr. Biden’s office, which was unsigned. “The president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Mr. Biden, 82, left office in January as the oldest-serving president in American history. Throughout his presidency, Mr. Biden faced questions about his age and his health, ultimately leading him to abandon his re-election campaign under pressure from his own party.
Prostate cancer experts say that Mr. Biden’s diagnosis is serious, and that once the cancer has spread to the bones — where it tends to go — it cannot be cured. But Dr. Judd Moul, a prostate cancer expert at Duke University, said men whose prostate cancer has spread “can live five, seven, 10 or more years.”
The first line of attack is to cut off the testosterone that feeds prostate cancer. Dr. Moul said that when he started out as a urologist in the 1980s, this was done by removing a man’s testicles. Today, men have a choice of two drugs given by injection that block the testicles from making testosterone or a pill that does the same thing. In addition, men take drugs that block any testosterone that manages to be made despite the drugs that inhibit its production.
Dr. Moul said he sees men Mr. Biden’s age with similar prostate cancer diagnoses on a regular basis. “Survival rates have almost tripled in the last decade,” he said.
On Monday, Mr. Biden posted a picture on social media with his wife, Jill Biden, along with a statement saying: “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
President Bola Tinubu on Sunday met with Pope Leo XIV in Vatican City in Rome, Italy.
Their meeting has sparked a possible significant moment in diplomatic and interfaith relations between Nigeria and the Holy See.
Tinubu had arrived the Vatican City on Saturday following an invitation from the Pope.
He was in Rome to witness the official installation of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican City in Rome.
The president is also expected to join other world leaders and dignitaries at a solemn mass marking the beginning of the pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome and the newly elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Upon his arrival, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State to the Vatican had hosted Tinubu to a dinner.
Pope Leo XIV was elected by a college of Cardinals following the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday.
