News
Listen to Biafran Agitation, 52 Northern Groups Beg Buhari, UN, Others
A coalition of 52 northern groups on Monday called on the global community to intervene in persuading Nigerian government and United Nations to facilitate the final actualisation of the Biafran dream by the Igbo.
While describing as empty and of no effect “threats and promises” by the President Muhammad Buhari, the CNG said that “between December 2020 and April 2021, over 970 students were abducted from their schools in the Northern part of Nigeria with a substantial number still in captivity and some violently executed.”
The spokesperson of CNG, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, raised the views in a communiqué after an emergency meeting in Abuja.
According to him, Northern Nigeria has never experienced the present level of exposure to criminals and bandits under the régime of Buhari.
He said, “The CNG hereby resolves to call on our friends and the international community, the UK especially, to understand that our bilateral friendship is guided by the principles of sovereignty, promotion of peace and the standards that guide legitimate interference.
“Hence, their intervention, exclamations and actions should not be drawn to discountenance the effort of the Nigerian state to protect citizens from violence and terror.
“We finally wish to renew our request for the global community’s intervention in persuading Nigerian authorities and the United Nations to facilitate the final actualization of the Biafran dream by the Igbo.
“The world should keep in mind that by far, a destabilised Nigeria will certainly threaten the peace and security of the entire sub-Saharan Africa.
“In the South, gangs of armed IPOB militia, violent secessionists and an assortment of militant groups appear to sense a huge vacuum in the capacity and political will by the Federal Government to challenge them, which they exploit with disastrous consequences on the nation’s security assets and specifically on northern communities and individuals living as minorities in the South while the presidency wallows in deflecting the issue.”
The CNG, however, attacked the Indigenous People of Biafra, saying it “is now taking a more ominous and repulsive form and context with open declaration of violence and anarchy against other parts of Nigeria and the Nigerian State.”
The Punch
By Eric Elezuo
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has announced the kickoff of the 2026 West African Second-term School Certificate Examination, saying it would be computer-based, and decrying the decline of male participation as against their female counterparts.
The Council made the disclosure on Monday, while addressing the media at its National Office in Yaba, Lagos, on steps so far taken to ensure a hitchfree 2026 Examination.
In his address, the Head of National Office, Mr. Jacob Josiah Dangut, remarked that the 2026 computer-based WASSEC, started on April 21, 2026 with practical test papers, stressing that the nitty gritty parts of the exercise will kick off on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, therefore the reason for the sensitization of the Nigerian public on the exams.
He noted that nearly two million candidates registered to sit for the examinations.
In his words, “A total of 1,959,636 candidates from 24,207 schools enrolled for the examination.
“Of this number, 958,564 candidates (48.92%) are male, while 1,001,072 candidates (51.08%) are female. This reflects an increase in female participation and a decline in male participation compared to last year.”
Dangut called on policy formulations to take the matter serious so as to reinvent the urge for education among the malefolks.
Meanwhile, Dangut informed the public that candidates are being tested in 37 subjects across 97 papers, supervised by about 29,000 senior secondary teachers nominated by state ministries of education.
Dangut said the rise in computer-based entries followed the successful debut of the format in 2025, with more schools and offshore institutions adopting it for its efficiency and alignment with global standards.
The 2026 exercise will run through to June 19th.
The simmering political battle in Rivers State appears to have taken a fresh turn, following the screening of aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly primaries, with several loyalists of Governor Siminalayi Fubara failing to make the party’s final list.
In a development already stirring political intrigue across the state, former Obio/Akpor council chairman Chijioke Ihunwo and serving lawmakers Sokari Goodboy and Victor Oko-Jumbo — all widely regarded as strong allies of Governor Fubara — were among those not cleared by the party’s screening committee for various reasons.
Political observers are interpreting their failure to scale through as more than just a routine internal party exercise. They say it is the latest signal of the deepening political fault lines in Rivers, where Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Minister Nyesom Wike, remain locked in a prolonged struggle for political supremacy.
On the other side of the divide, the list of cleared aspirants appears to favour established political figures and returning lawmakers, largely seen as loyal to the Wike camp.
Among those cleared are:
Maol Dumle
Major Jack
Enemi Alabo George
Tonye Smart Adoki
Tekenari Granville
Their emergence is being viewed as a reinforcement of the influence of the former governor within the APC structure in Rivers State.
The screening exercise, announced by Rivers APC publicity secretary Chibike Ikenga, comes at a politically sensitive time, with alignments already forming ahead of future elections and control of the Rivers State House of Assembly remaining a critical battleground.
For many political watchers, the outcome raises fresh questions: Is the APC in Rivers consolidating into a single power bloc? And does this effectively shut the door on Fubara’s loyalists seeking alternative political platforms?
Fubara, elected under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, joined the APC last year, following a political dispute with Wike.
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) has been factionalized ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The rival factions emerged after its chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma, was reportedly removed on Thursday.
While Uzodimma insists that he remains PGF chairman, Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun and his Kwara State counterpart, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, are reportedly leading a separate faction.
Another bloc within the forum has reportedly queued behind the duo of Abiodun and AbdulRazaq.
The development, which comes amid growing political realignments within the ruling party, marks a significant crack in the ranks of APC governors ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to reports by Arise TV, details surrounding the disagreement remain unclear, but sources within the party said tensions have been building over internal leadership control and strategic positioning ahead of the next election season.
As of the time of filing this report, none of the factions had made an official clarification regarding the alleged division.
