Headlines
Nigeria Cannot Have a Pablo Escobar As President, Atiku PCC Attacks Tinubu
By Eric Elezuo
The Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council has called on the law enforcement agencies including the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to arrest and prosecute the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for alleged involvement in drugs and other related criminalities.
The call was made Sunday via a press statement tiled “Why NDLEA, EFCC must arrest and prosecute Bola Ahmed Tinubu”, and signed by the Director of Strategic Communications, Chief Dele Momodu, and other members of the media team where the campaign itemised in black and white various atrocities allegedly committed by the APC presidential candidate, stressing he was not fit to be president.
Addressing Nigerians as a whole, the campaign team maintained that considering the myriads of problems facing the nation at the moment, it would be ‘a huge disaster to add state sponsored drug trafficking into the mix’, as the APC candidate is reputed to have ‘direct ties to drug lords and was used as a conduit pipe to launder their funds’ in collaboration with another drug kingpin, Adegboyega Muiz Akande.
“This investigation has revealed the identity of other individuals including relatives who have worked for Akande with various duties in the distribution organisation. One of these individuals has been identified by the investigation as Bola Tinubu,” said Kevin Moss, a special agent with the Inland Revenue Service,” the statement revealed.
The statement added: “Court records showed that Akande took Tinubu to First Heritage Bank where he opened an account for himself and his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in 1989. Tinubu revealed in documents that he worked with Mobil Nigeria Limited and his salary was $2,400 and he had no other sources of income whatsoever.
“But records from his First Heritage Bank account showed that in 1990, Tinubu deposited $661,000 into his individual money market account and in 1991 deposited $1,216,500 into the same money market account. Mobil representatives told US authorities that even though Tinubu was a treasurer, he had no direct access to the company’s cash and thus could not deposit funds on behalf of the firm.
“Tinubu, the political Maradona, quickly entered into an agreement with US authorities and forfeited $460,000 in order to avoid jail before running back to Nigeria. But this has not changed the fact that he was in cahoots with drug dealers and was their bagman.
“Nigerian law is clear. Criminal cases have no statute of limitation and can be re-opened at anytime especially for the sake of national interest. We hereby call on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to immediately arrest Bola Ahmed Tinubu and prosecute him for drug trafficking.
“Apart from the criminal angle to this call, there is also the national security aspect. The world will recall what happened to Panama when Manuel Noriega, a known drug lord, became President in 1983. During his six-year rule, Panama became a narcos state as Noriega became an ally of the notorious Pablo Escobar’s Medellin cartel.”
While asking law enforcement agencies to speed up the arrest and persecution of the former governor of Lagos State, the campaign council also explained in detail how Tinubu has been siphoning the resources of Lagos State using the instrumentality of his firm, Alpha Beta. The allegations, the Council maintained, are contained in court affidavits sworn to by a former Managing Director of Alpha Beta Consulting, Dapo Apara. He insisted that Tinubu has continued to corner the finances of the state through this firm.
In a Writ of Summons, Apara said, “The claimant avers that some of the suspicious transfers to third parties amongst many others unknown to the claimant are as follows: a) N500,000,000 payment to SW8 Investment Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 30/12/13; (b) $2,989,063.33 payment to Summit Integrated Services Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 18/3/1.5.
“(c) $1,407,000 USD payment to Summit Integrated Services Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 18/3/15; (d) N25million payment to Halizview International Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 18/3/15; (e)N39million payment to Halizview International Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 3/3/15; (I) N38million payment to Halizview International Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 6/3/15.
“(g) N550million payment to Ocean Trust Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 15/5/18 (h) N850million payment to Ocean Trust Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 14/3/15; (i) N1 billion in Afkar printing Press together with Vintage Press Limited and Lagoon Press Limited in October 2017; (J) N1 billion Ocean and Oil Investment Limited (OANDO) various times; (k) N3.5 billion in OCEANIC BANK avow ECOBANK) various times; (I) N100 million IBILE HOLDINGS LAND Plot 16/17 BLOCK VI (ONIRU ESTATE) (m) N500 million STARCOMMS (Aranda Resources) 100,000,000 SHARES (n) N1.4 billion Sterling Asset Management (o) N960 million HITV 300,000,000 shares (p) N11.9 billion SW8 (WEMA BANK)30,909,090 shares.”
President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that 2026 will be a more prosperous year for all.
Tinubu stated this in his New Year message on Thursday, adding that his administration would sustain the momentum on its major reforms.
“During 2025, we sustained the momentum on our major reforms. We had a fiscal reset and also recorded steady economic progress.
“Despite persistent global economic headwinds, we recorded tangible and measurable gains, particularly in the economy.
“These achievements reaffirm our belief that the difficult but necessary reforms we embarked upon are moving us in the right direction with more concrete results on the horizon for the ordinary Nigerian,” the President said in the statement he personally signed.
Consolidating gains
Tinubu said that the focus in 2026 would be on consolidating the gains and continuing to build a resilient, sustainable, inclusive, and growth-oriented economy.
According to him, Nigeria closed 2025 on a strong note, as despite the policies to fight inflation, it recorded a robust GDP growth each quarter, with annualised growth expected to exceed four per cent for the year.
Tinubu explained that the nation maintained trade surpluses and achieved greater exchange rate stability while inflation declined steadily and reached below 15 per cent, in line with his administration’s target.
“In 2026, we are determined to reduce inflation further and ensure that the benefits of reform reach every Nigerian household. In 2025, the Nigerian Stock Exchange outperformed its peers, posting a robust 48.12 per cent gain and consolidating its bullish run that began in the second half of 2023.
“Supported by sound monetary policy management, our foreign reserves stood at $45.4 billion as of December 29, 2025, providing a substantial buffer against external shocks for the Naira. We expect this position to strengthen further in the New Year,” he said.
“Foreign direct investment is also responding positively. In the third quarter of 2025, FDI rose to $720 million, up from $90 million in the preceding quarter, reflecting renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s economic direction, which global credit rating agencies, including Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s, have consistently affirmed and applauded,” Tinubu added.
Tax reforms
The President further assured that with patience, fiscal discipline, and unity of purpose, Nigeria would emerge in 2026 stronger and better positioned for sustained growth.
According to him, as inflation and interest rates moderate, his administration expects increased fiscal space for productive investment in infrastructure and human capital development.
“We are also confronting the challenge of multiple taxation across all tiers of government. I commend states that have aligned with the national tax harmonisation agenda by adopting harmonised tax laws to reduce the excessive burden of taxes, levies, and fees on our people and on basic consumption.
“The new year marks a critical phase in implementing our tax reforms, designed to build a fair, competitive, and robust fiscal foundation for Nigeria.
“By harmonising our tax system, we aim to raise revenue sustainably, address fiscal distortions and strengthen our capacity to finance infrastructure and social investments that will deliver shared prosperity,” he added.
National security
Tinubu said that though the path of reform is never easy, his administration remains mindful that economic progress must be accompanied by security and peace.
“Our nation continues to confront security threats from criminal and terrorist elements determined to disrupt our way of life. In collaboration with international partners, including the United States, decisive actions were taken against terrorist targets in parts of the Northwest on December 24.
“Our Armed Forces have since sustained operations against terror networks and criminal strongholds across the Northwest and Northeast,” he said.
But the President stated that in 2026, Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies would deepen cooperation with regional and global partners to eliminate all threats to national security.
“We remain committed to protecting lives, property, and the territorial integrity of our country.
“I continue to believe that a decentralised policing system with appropriate safeguards, complemented by properly regulated forest guards, all anchored on accountability, is critical to effectively addressing terrorism, banditry, and related security challenges,” he added.
Investments in infrastructure
The New Year marks the beginning of a more robust phase of economic growth, with tangible improvements in the lives of our people.
Tinubu also said that his government would accelerate the implementation of the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, aiming to bring at least 10 million Nigerians into productive economic activity by empowering at least 1,000 people in each of the 8,809 wards across the country.
“Through agriculture, trade, food processing, and mining, we will stimulate local economies and expand grassroots opportunities.
“We will also continue to invest in modernising Nigeria’s infrastructure – roads, power, ports, railways, airports, pipelines, healthcare, education, and agriculture to strengthen food security and improve quality of life. All ongoing projects will continue without interruption,” he said.
He, however, urged Nigerians to play their part to achieve the objectives in 2026 by standing together in unity and purpose, upholding patriotism, and serving the country with honour and integrity in their respective roles.
Let us resolve to be better citizens, better neighbours, and better stewards of our nation.
An Abuja High Court has cleared the way for the implementation of Nigeria’s new tax regime scheduled to commence on January 1, 2026, dismissing a suit seeking to halt the programme.
The ruling gives the Federal government, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the National Assembly full legal backing to proceed with the take-off of the new tax laws.
The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of African Initiative for Abuse of Public Trustees, which dragged the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly before the court over alleged discrepancies in the recently enacted tax laws.
In an ex-parte motion, the plaintiff sought an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government, FIRS, the National Assembly and related agencies from implementing or enforcing the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The group also asked the court to restrain the President from implementing the laws in any part of the federation pending the hearing of its motion on notice.
However, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Kawu struck out the application, holding that it lacked merit and failed to establish sufficient legal grounds to warrant the grant of the reliefs sought.
The court ruled that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate how the implementation of the new tax laws would occasion irreparable harm or violate any provision of the Constitution, stressing that matters of fiscal policy and economic reforms fall squarely within the powers of government.
Justice Kawu further held that once a law has been duly enacted and gazetted, any alleged errors or controversies can only be addressed through legislative amendment or a substantive court order, noting that disagreements over tax laws cannot stop the implementation of an existing law.
Consequently, the court affirmed that there was no legal impediment to the commencement of the new tax regime and directed that implementation should proceed as scheduled from January 1, 2026.
The new tax regime is anchored on four landmark tax reform bills signed into law in 2025 as part of the Federal Government’s broader fiscal and economic reform agenda aimed at boosting revenue, simplifying the tax system and reducing leakages.
The laws — the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025 — consolidate and replace several existing tax statutes, including laws governing companies income tax, personal income tax, value added tax, capital gains tax and stamp duties.
Key elements of the reforms include the harmonisation of multiple taxes into a more streamlined framework, expansion of the tax base, protection for low-income earners and small businesses, and the introduction of modern, technology-driven tax administration systems such as digital filing and electronic compliance monitoring.
The reforms also provide for the restructuring of federal tax administration, including the creation of the Nigeria Revenue Service, to strengthen efficiency, coordination and revenue collection across government levels.
While the Federal government has described the reforms as critical to stabilising public finances and funding infrastructure and social services, the laws have generated intense public debate, with some civil society groups and political actors alleging discrepancies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and those later gazetted.
These concerns sparked calls for suspension, re-gazetting and legal action, culminating in the suit dismissed by the Abuja High Court.
Reacting to the judgment, stakeholders described the ruling as a major boost for the reforms, saying it has removed all legal obstacles that could have delayed the implementation of the new tax framework.
Former governor of Anambra State, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has officially defected to the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Obi announced the decision on Tuesday at an event held at the Nike Lake Resort, Enugu.
“We are ending this year with the hope that in 2026 we will begin a rescue journey,” Obi said.
The National Chairman of the ADC, David Mark, was among the attendees.
