Headlines
Iran Has Given Up on Nuclear Weapons, Trump Claims
US President, Donald Trump, said on Tuesday that Iran gave him a “very big present” related to the Strait of Hormuz, boosting his confidence that he is talking to the right people in Tehran to end the war.
The cryptic announcement came a day after Trump unexpectedly postponed threatened attacks on Iran’s power plants and said Washington is in negotiations with unspecified figures in Iran.
Tehran has, however, denied being part of any talks to end the war, which is now in its fourth week and has disrupted global oil supplies passing through the strategic Hormuz Strait.
“They did something yesterday that was amazing actually. They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“That meant one thing to me — we’re dealing with the right people.”
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for new US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Trump said the “gift” was “very significant”, adding that it was “oil and gas-related.”
Asked if it was related to his demand that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic, Trump replied: “Yeah, it was related to the flow and to the strait.”
The US president added that the “present” was not related to Iran’s nuclear program, but repeated his claim that the Iranian side “agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump has not yet revealed who the United States is negotiating with in Tehran, saying only on Monday as he postponed a threat to attack Iran’s energy sites by five days that it is a “top person.”
“We’re actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly,” Trump said.
Former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the joint Israeli-US air campaign, and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public.
But Trump said that the killing of Khamenei senior and a host of other top Iranian officials meant “we have really regime change. The leaders are all very different with the ones that we started off with.”
US Vice President, JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, global envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were all involved in the Iranian talks, Trump said.
But he did not confirm reports that Witkoff and Kushner were headed to Pakistan for talks with Iran, with Vance possibly to follow afterward if the negotiations appeared serious.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered on Tuesday to act as a mediator to end the conflict.
He said he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad’s help to bring peace to the region.
Trump meanwhile joked that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “didn’t want it to be settled” because he wanted to keep striking Iranian targets.
“We see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs,” Hegseth said when he was called to the podium by Trump.
Agency Report
Veteran journalist and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Dele Momodu, has declared that a joint presidential ticket between Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi represents the strongest strategy for the opposition to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television, Momodu said the emerging ADC coalition is gaining momentum as a credible alternative to President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which he accused of promoting “one-man rule” and weakening democratic institutions.
Momodu argued that an Atiku–Obi ticket offers both experience and electoral appeal, noting that both politicians already command significant national followings from previous elections. He recalled their collaboration in 2019, adding that Obi’s performance in the 2023 presidential election provides a ready base of supporters that can be consolidated.
According to him, the coalition is further strengthened by the involvement of political heavyweights such as Rabiu Kwankwaso and Rotimi Amaechi, making it a formidable opposition alliance.
“The candidates who placed second, third, and even fourth are aligning. That naturally builds a strong challenge,” Momodu said, suggesting that this development could unsettle the APC ahead of 2027.
He also accused the Tinubu administration of centralising power and undermining democratic processes, claiming that key institutions—including the legislature and electoral system—are increasingly influenced by the executive arm of government. He warned that such a trend poses risks to Nigeria’s democracy.
Momodu further alleged that opposition parties face systemic obstacles, including difficulties in accessing venues, legal pressures, and institutional interference. He argued that these challenges have made opposition unity not just strategic, but necessary.
Dismissing concerns about possible cracks within the ADC coalition, Momodu described such fears as speculative, insisting that current political realities have effectively forced major opposition figures to work together.
The Supreme Court has scheduled hearing for April 22 in the appeal filed by the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, in relation to the leadership dispute in the party.
Mark’s appeal is against the March 12 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed his appeal against the September 4, 2025 ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja refusing to grant some injunctive reliefs contained in an ex-parte application filed by a chieftain of the party, Nafiu Bala Gombe.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba chose the date on Tuesday after granting accelerated hearing in the appeal marked: SC/CV/180/2026.
The court ordered Mark’s lawyer, Jibril Okutepa (SAN) to file the appellant’s brief and serve on Wednesday.
It ordered the respondents to each file and serve on the appellant, a respondent’s brief within three days of being served with the appellant’s brief.
The appellant, according to the court, is to file a reply brief, if needs be, within one day of being served with the respondents’ briefs.
Headlines
Amid Denials, ADC Reportedly Secures Rainbow Event Centre As Venue for National Convention
Baring any last minute change, the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as National chairman and National Secretary respectively will hold the party’s National convention at the National Rainbow Event Centre in Garki on Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has being denied two venues without any cogent reasons despite early arrangements, according to sources.
First, it was alleged that the Abuja Transcorp Hilton Hotels, which was initially approached, turned down the ADC request to use it’s facility.
The ADC, having sensed sabotage, has kept the Rainbow Event Center under rap as it’s definite venue.
The last National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party was held at the same venue.
Located adjacent the Nigerian Police Force Headquarters, the event centre will host the second NEC meeting of the ADC and it’s forthcoming national convention.
According to The Guardian’ report, the ADC leadership has communicated the venue to state chapters with the caveat not to escalate it.
The ADC is in a battle of survival against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and has approached the Supreme Court for intervention.
The INEC national chairman Prof Joash Amupitan has suspended recognition of the David Mark-led ADC rendering a leadership vacuum in the party.
INEC said it’s decision was on the basis of an Appeal Court pronouncement that ordered statusquo ante-bellum be maintained.
Reports say that why the venue is being quietly decorated moderately for the event, the ADC intends to fully move in the early hours of Tuesday.
The Guardian
