President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja, the nation’s capital on Sunday for Europe to begin a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.

Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a release disclosed that Tinubu’s first stop will be London, United Kingdom.

The President is expected to return home after the working vacation to join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 election.

Vice President Kashim Shettima had earlier this month went on two-week leave, his first since the Tinubu government assumed office over three years ago. He has since returned.

Key leaders of Nigeria’s opposition, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, are expected to attend the First Summit of Nigeria’s Opposition Political Parties, convened by the G100, on Monday, August 31, 2026, at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

The summit, under the theme, “A Framework for Opposition Cooperation and Coordination,” will bring together the leadership of six major opposition parties to begin structured negotiations on the terms, institutions and principles upon which they may cooperate ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a statement signed by G100 Convener, Salihu Moh. Lukman, the group said the meeting is not meant to decide presidential candidacy in one sitting, but to establish a formal architecture for transparent and collective negotiations.

“The first question before party leaders is not who leads the ticket. It is what we are, together, prepared to do for this country,” the statement said.

The summit follows the G100’s publication on 2 August 2026 of the Doctrine of a Necessary Democratic Opposition, and weeks of consultations with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Those talks produced a shared briefing document that identified areas of convergence while acknowledging the parties’ distinct histories and interests.

“At the centre of the consultations was a common recognition of the need for a credible, organised and competitive democratic opposition, and a willingness to engage the difficult questions that meaningful cooperation ahead of 2027 will require,” Lukman stated.

Among the proposals before the summit is the creation of five specialised Working Groups.

If approved, the groups will have four weeks to develop the principal documents and agreements needed to give institutional form to opposition cooperation.

“Cooperation does not require any party to disappear into another. The first question before party leaders is not who leads the ticket. It is what we are, together, prepared to do for this country.

“The First Summit is not intended to determine, in a single sitting, questions of presidential candidacy or the final form that opposition cooperation may take. Its immediate purpose is more fundamental, to establish and authorise a formal architecture through which those questions can be negotiated collectively, transparently and in good faith.

“Each participating political party is expected to attend with a delegation of leaders and key stakeholders, drawn from its national leadership and other relevant constituencies within the party. These delegations will participate fully in the deliberations of the Summit, ensuring that the process extends beyond the principal party leaders and draws upon a broader representation of political experience, perspectives and interests.

“Among the proposals before the Summit will be the establishment of structures that will facilitate negotiations and cooperation and five specialised Working Groups. Subject to the decisions of the participating parties, these bodies will be mandated to develop, within four weeks, the principal documents and agreements required to give institutional form to opposition cooperation,” the statement added.

Each party is expected to attend with a delegation drawn from its National Working Committee (NWC) and other key constituencies.

Expected participants at the summit are national chairmen and NWC members of ADC, APM, NDC, PDP, PRP, SDP; presidential candidates and running mates of the participating parties; and G100 signatories and members of the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives.

The G100 said it is convening the summit as a facilitator and observer, not as a substitute for the constitutional authority of the parties.

“The decisions arising from this process will remain the responsibility of the parties themselves,” the statement added.

The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take immediate and decisive action to end the escalating wave of terrorism and banditry across Northern Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Thursday amid growing attacks on communities, the caucus said the scale of killings, kidnappings and displacement had become intolerable, urging the President to deploy a sustained and coordinated security operation to reclaim territories controlled by terrorists and criminal gangs.

The lawmakers, in the statement signed by Hon. Fredrick Agbedi, leader minority caucus, and Hon. Afam Victor Ogene minority caucus spokesperson, cited recent attacks in several northern states, including Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kaduna and Katsina, where dozens of residents have reportedly been killed or abducted.

In Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, the caucus said more than 20 people were killed in recent attacks, including at least 23 victims in one incident. In Niger State, armed men reportedly attacked communities in Borgu Local Government Area and abducted more than 60 worshippers during Friday prayers.

The caucus also cited the killing of at least 40 people in Ungushi community, Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State, including the Chief Imam, Imam Aliyu, as well as the death of at least 30 people in an attack on Naridon village in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

According to the lawmakers, continued bandit attacks and reprisals in Katsina State have further deepened fear among residents.

The situation in Borno State was also highlighted, with the caucus expressing concern over schoolchildren who have remained missing months after their abduction.

“This is no longer a situation that can be addressed principally through statements of condemnation after every attack,” the caucus said, insisting that Nigeria needs an “intelligence-led” and sustained security response.

The lawmakers urged Tinubu to replicate on a larger scale the strategy that led to the rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

They called for affected areas to be placed under intensive security operations, with security forces directed to dominate the territory and conduct sustained operations against terrorist and bandit hideouts, forests and criminal enclaves.

The caucus stressed that such measures should target the operational space of criminal groups rather than innocent civilians.

“We are calling on the President to lock down the affected theatres of operation, dominate the territory and sweep the forests, hideouts and criminal enclaves where terrorists and bandits operate. Such an operation must be intelligence-led, professionally executed and sustained until the criminal elements are neutralised and the abducted citizens rescued.

“We are not asking the President to lock down innocent Nigerians. We are asking the Commander-in-Chief to lock down the operational space of terrorists and bandits, deny them freedom of movement, cut off their supply lines and communications and deploy overwhelming force against those who have turned parts of the North into killing fields and centres of mass abduction,” the lawmakers said.

They also urged the President to visit Zamfara State and travel to Illela to engage directly with communities affected by insecurity, arguing that Nigerians need to see their President physically present in areas suffering from attacks and abductions.

The Minority Caucus further called for extraordinary funding for the security campaign, proposing that the Federal Government consider drawing $5 billion from the nation’s external reserves if necessary.

“If funding is an issue, the government should draw $5 billion from the nation’s external reserves for an extraordinary national security intervention. The primary purpose of government is the welfare and security of the people and no expenditure can be more fundamental than protecting the lives and livelihoods of Nigerian citizens,” the caucus said.

The lawmakers welcomed the recent increase in the salaries of members of the Armed Forces, describing it as an important step towards improving the welfare and morale of soldiers. However, they urged the President to immediately forward the necessary amendment to the 2026 Appropriation Act and a Supplementary Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.

They said the National Assembly should be prepared to reconvene, if necessary, to ensure that the salary increase is implemented without bureaucratic delays.

The statement also addressed the detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, which it said  “has increasingly assumed the character of a political persecution.”

The caucus demanded his immediate release, arguing “our concern is not merely about one individual. It is about the credibility and consistency of the Federal Government’s anti-corruption campaign. The composition of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and the prominent roles occupied within that political structure by individuals who have themselves been the subject of serious corruption allegations and public controversy, has made a mockery of the government’s claim to be pursuing a principled and even-handed war against corruption.

“It is difficult for the government to demand public confidence in its anti-corruption campaign when the political architecture through which the President seeks the mandate of Nigerians included individuals whose records and allegations have raised serious questions about the integrity of that campaign.”

The Minority Caucus said Nigerians needed action rather than condolences and called on President Tinubu to use his constitutional authority and the country’s security resources to protect citizens.

“The bloodshed in Northern Nigeria must stop. The abducted must be rescued. The terrorists and bandits must be defeated,” the caucus said.