Contrary to SaharaReporter breaking news claiming that former Anambra State Governor Chief Willie Obiano has passed away in London, sources close to the ex-governor have confirmed that he is very much alive.
A former close aide to Obiano told BVI Channel 1 on Friday: “The reports of his death are completely false. Chief Obiano is in the USA and is in good health. We urge the public to disregard these rumors.”
A family source, speaking from the United States where Obiano is currently staying, also confirmed: “He is with us and doing well. The news of his death is entirely unfounded. We appeal to everyone to stop circulating misinformation that only causes unnecessary panic and distress.”
Adding weight to the clarification, Obiano’s former Chief of Staff, Prof. Joe Asike, described the rumor as “a pack of lies from unknown mischief makers.” He urged the public and media outlets to verify information before sharing, stressing that the false reports are intended to cause confusion and alarm.
Obiano, who served as Anambra State Governor from 2014 to 2022, is currently in the United States for medical follow-up and personal matters, according to the sources. Both the family and aides emphasized that the circulated reports are fake news.
The recent needless altercation between the FCT Minister, HE, Barr. Nyesom Wike and a Naval officer are yet another unfortunate reflection of the growing institutional disorder in our country. What should ordinarily be a routine civic encounter has, once again, become a national embarrassment— a typical example coming out of a ‘disgraced country’
Beyond the personalities involved, this incident raises fundamental questions that demand honest national reflection:
Should the military be used for purely civil operations? If proper protocols were in place, should a Minister’s intervention in such a matter be in such an indecorous manner?
Shouldn’t there be clear boundaries between administrative authority and the duties of security agencies?
What does this say about our respect for institutions and the separation of powers? Why are our men and women in uniform so often drawn into civilian disputes? Why has the culture of due process and civility given way to public spectacle and confrontation? If our institutions worked as they should, would tempers flare in situations that should be handled by clear procedure and hierarchy? Above all, what example do incidents like this set for our younger generation about leadership, discipline, and the rule of law?
These are not just questions about one incident – they go to the very heart of how our nation is governed. When public officials act beyond institutional norms, and when security agencies are used in ways that blur their professional boundaries, we weaken both governance and public trust.
We must learn from this episode. It is time to rebuild a nation where institutions are stronger than individuals; where public office is exercised with humility and restraint; where the dignity of our uniformed officers and the rights of every citizen are upheld.
A country that aspires to greatness and feels insulted when referred to as a disgraced nation must replace the culture of impunity with the discipline of law, order, and respect for due process.
Repeatedly, I have maintained that to occupy an office and be referred to as His Excellency, Distinguished or Honourable, how we get to such an office and our character and behaviour while holding it or out of it should reflect such exemplary titles in all ramifications.
When the Students’ Union of the University of Abuja invited me for a talk, I didn’t expect much, but I decided to go.
From the airport straight to the school, my team told me something was wrong — the event hall was empty, and the university had cancelled the program.
Later, the Students’ Union President said it would still hold, so I went to the gate. Security stopped me, saying management had declared my visit “unacceptable.” They said the Students’ Union didn’t have permission to host me.
I refused to leave. As I sat there, I saw a lady stopped from entering the campus because of “improper dressing.” | asked the guards if the university bought clothes for students — they got confused and finally let her in.
When the Students’ Union President arrived, he looked helpless. It was clear he couldn’t act freely without fear of the authorities.
That day, I saw that the University of Abuja wasn’t a true place of learning — it was a shadow of courage and ideas.
Our universities are not dying because of lack of money, but because of lack of freedom, truth, and integrity.
Nigerian universities are d**d. What’s left is the struggle to bring them back to life.
” The incident occurred at Gaduwa before Games Village at about 1255.
The land was acquired by Vice Admiral AZ GAMBO in 2020 with all the legal documents .
In September 2025, the admiral decided to develop his land, and after about a week, the Development Control Council came around and asked for the documents and building approval
The engineer showed them.
After two days, they came back and stated that the land had been revoked by the current FCT Minister with no conditions provided.
Efforts have been made to reach out to him to ask why.
But they proffered no concrete or genuine reasons.
Then they came to stop the work, which prompted us to pursue them.
The Minister came around on Saturday and issued enough threats stating that they were coming to bring the building down.
Earlier yesterday, around 11 AM, two bulldozers from Development Control came to bring the building down, but we refused them.
Despite all efforts being abortive
He came down himself, and that’s when we blocked him from the entrance and did not grant him access to the facility.
He had to call the Chief of Defense Staff and reported the matter.
*The CDS spoke with the officer that they should come down they are on top of the situation* ”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Professor Chukwuma Soludo the winner of the Anambra State gubernatorial election, with 422,000 votes. As an organization, the Good Governance Ministry (GGM) extends its congratulations to the Governor on his re-election. However, beyond the celebration, this election reveals deeper lessons that deserve urgent attention.
Shortly after the results were announced, a concerned member of GGM contacted me in frustration over voters’ behavior in Ayamelum. His words echoed the views of many citizens: “People voted for the candidate willing to pay the most.” His fears reflect a growing belief that vote buying is no longer an abnormality in Nigerian politics, but an accepted strategy for electoral success.
While the blame cannot rest solely on voters, it is impossible to ignore the wider picture. Years of economic hardship, poverty, unemployment, and broken promises have left many citizens desperate, vulnerable, and disillusioned. When daily survival becomes a struggle, the temptation to trade votes for immediate financial relief becomes stronger than the hope for long-term development.
This leads to a fundamental question: If elections can be won through financial influence rather than public trust, what then is the purpose of democracy?
If leaders rely on monetary inducement instead of service delivery, accountability disappears. Elections become a marketplace, not a mandate. Democracy turns into a transaction—one that favors the highest bidder, not the most capable leader.
True leadership is not earned through inducement but through impact. A visionary Governor that prioritizes people-centered policies would reduce the power of vote buying significantly.I honestly do not think that Gov Alex Otti of Abia State would pay Abians to vote for him . Policies that could transform voter behavior include:
1.Social support for senior citizens not covered by pensions
2. Empowerment programs for unemployed youths. A portal should be created to capture all the unemployed youths.
3. Affordable housing schemes for working-class citizens and the Vulnerable.
4. Increased support and incentives for farmers.This will include steady and affordable electricity supply to encourage production .
5. Strong institutions driven by transparency, accountability, and zero tolerance to corruption.
6. Merit-based public and civil service systems
7. Improved security and social stability
8. 21st century rural and urban development plans which include modern markets, industrial and Agricultural villages .
When a Governor works for the people, desperation has no bargaining power, and votes can no longer be bought easily.
The tragedy is not just the exchange of cash for votes—it is the exchange of hope for survival. When citizens feel unheard, forgotten, and economically strained, democracy ceases to represent their aspirations. Last Anambra Gubernatorial election held on 8th November,2025 which produced Prof Chukwuma Soludo is more than a political outcome; it is a wake-up call about the cost of failed governance and weakened institutions. All the players in that election , who participated in vote buying, may wish to deceive themselves that vote buying has come to stay and has become the new normal .However ,the truth must be told no matter how painful, evil does not stand the test of time ! Vote buying is evil and should be condemned by all! Let it be on record that GGM – the only political ministry in Nigeria will always vote for ideological politics that will promote and improve the living standard of the people not tokenism in form of vote buying!
It should be noted that Vote buying does not empower the voter—it silences the voter.It does not birth progress—it buries accountability.
It does not strengthen democracy—it diminishes it.
For democracy to thrive in Anambra, and across Nigeria, elections must be won by ideas, integrity, public trust, and measurable service—not by financial inducement.
A better future begins not at the polls, but in leadership that values human dignity over political advantage.
Ndubuisi Anaenugwu is the Ambassador General of Good Governance Ministry (GGM)
Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shiites, today November 8, took to the streets of Kano to stage a protest against United States President Donald Trump’s recent statement threatening to invade Nigeria to take out terrorists.
Members of the sect marched across major roads in Kano city, carried placards and banners rejecting Trump’s claim that Christians were being targeted in a genocide in Nigeria. Some of the demonstrators were seen dragging the American flag on the ground, while others displayed effigies of the US president.
Trump had recently designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” claiming that there was ongoing persecution of Christians by terrorist groups and warning that if the Nigerian government failed to act, he would deploy U.S. troops to stop the killings. He also directed the U.S. Department of War to prepare a possible military action plan.
In reaction, the IMN dismissed Trump’s comments as false and provocative. The sect group described the US leader’s claims as “inflammatory and dangerous,” accusing western nations of using propaganda to create religious division in Nigeria.
They argued that their group has always stood for unity and peaceful coexistence, stressing that Nigeria’s challenges were driven by corruption and political greed,
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Prof. Chukwuma Soludo the winner of the Anambra gubernatorial election, securing a second term in office.
– Votes: 422,664 (approx. 78 % of valid votes)
Closest Rival: APC’s Nicholas Ukachukwu – 99,445 votes
Local government sweep:Soludo led in all 21 LGAs.
– President Bola Tinubu praised the result as “a vote of confidence in visionary leadership.”
– The Nigeria Governors’ Forum sent congratulations, calling the margin “decisive.”
– Opposition candidate ADC alleged vote‑buying; INEC said the process was “largely credible.”
Soludo is expected to be sworn in within the next week, with his administration promising continued focus on infrastructure and education.
Stay tuned for updates as the results are verified and more reactions come in.
The governorship candidate of Labour Party (LP), Chief George Moghalu, on Sunday, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Security Agencies of disappointing Anambra people following the outcome of the November 8 governorship poll.
Moghalu, who stated this at post election press conference held at Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area, identified vote buying, failure of BVAs, missing results sheets, violence and missing results as some of the acts that marred the poll after promises by the INEC and security to make it credible, free, fair and crisis free.
He said his party and campaign organization would analyse the issues discovered in the election critically and find out what steps to take.
“The election is not free and fair. There are cases of vote buying. In many cases, result sheets were not there, but elections were going on. Cases like that abound with evidences. On the social media, you see people carrying money and giving money.
“There were also cases of voter intimidation. In Idemili North, one of my major supporters was beaten; but that shouldn’t happen. They came to pick him up from his house but he resisted, so, they beat him black and blue. “INEC has their own shortcomings and failures. Security agencies, on their own, assured us of protection.
“That was why they sent 45,000 policemen, over 20 CPs, AIGs, DIGs and so on; but at the end of the day, they were not able to stop vote buying. Vote buying was everywhere; it was visible. The truth is that the entire process was faulty. Vote buying was at an alarming rate in the November 8 governorship election.
“ In many areas, LP logo was in the ballot paper, but the name is not there. There are people who may know the name but wouldn’t know the logo. All these infractions are issues that marred the election,” he stated.
For almost 15 years, jihadist terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and affiliates of ISWAP, ISIS, al-Qaeda, and, more recently, groups like Lakurawa and Wulowulo, have wreaked unimaginable havoc. They introduced suicide bombing in Nigeria and began a murderous campaign, especially in Borno State, from which it gradually spread across the northeastern part of our country.
Places of worship — both churches and mosques, as well as palaces and traditional rulers have not been spared in their bloodbath. School children have been kidnapped, killed, or forcefully married off. The victims of these jihadist attacks, which began in Borno, were Muslims and Christians.
As fundamentalist groups opposed to Western education, these terrorists have consistently targeted schools and students, leading to the abductions of the Chibok girls, Dapchi girls, and Buni Yadi school children, among others. Till today, Nigeria has not fully accounted for the whereabouts of many of these students — for instance, Leah Sharibu and some Chibok girls remain missing.
Universities and their students have also suffered attacks, and these terrorist groups still maintain footholds and control territories within Nigeria. In states such as Borno, Zamfara, and Katsina, according to accounts from government officials and community leaders, these terrorists continue to control territories, impose taxes on locals, and generally exercise authority — by their own rules, not by the laws of the Nigerian state or the Constitution.
This is a direct affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and should not be tolerated any further. President Trump’s statement is a wake-up call to action. If the Nigerian government is unable to address this issue effectively, then it must collaborate with those who can help us flush out these terrorists.
At the Senate, my colleagues and I have repeatedly raised these issues, even beyond the floor of the Senate. Hardly a week passes without a member of the Senate drawing attention to reports of killings and attacks on villages in one constituency or the other. The Senate has paid countless tributes in memory of those killed, as well as several suggestions and proposals to the Executive, including the proposal for a National Security Summit to be held soon. Most recently, the Senate took a motion and directed its leadership to interface with the President to dispatch a non-partisan team of experts and statesmen to Washington D.C.
Even states that were once considered safe zones have now been affected, as the insurgency, banditry, and terrorism have spread to places like Sokoto, Zamfara, Taraba, Katsina, Niger, and even Kwara. Everyone in Nigeria knows that in the Middle Belt regions of Benue and Plateau, and also in Southern Kaduna, the coordinated massacres of innocent citizens by marauding terrorists and bandits, coupled with the displacement of Indigenous communities, have been going on for many years. Some of the footages of the carnage are unimaginable, while efforts by government and security agencies have clearly not been effective in tackling the menace.
The failure of successive governments in Nigeria to prevent, arrest, or punish perpetrators decisively created room for several conspiracy theories, including state complicity under late President Buhari’s administration — a concern once raised by no less a person than General T. Y. Danjuma, a former Chief of Army Staff and former Minister of Defence, in reaction to the slaughter and unrestrained killings in his home state of Taraba during the Buhari administration. Late President Buhari’s policy of appointing mostly Muslims to head all the security services during his eight years in office further worsened these perceptions.
As Nigerians, we must be honest with ourselves that the killings have gone on for too long and government and security forces have been overwhelmed. We need help! No nation can confront terrorism in isolation. We must therefore work with our allies and partners to defeat this menace once and for all.
It is on the strength of the foregoing that I strongly recommend that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should collaborate with President Donald Trump, the US Government, and other allies and friends of Nigeria to flush out these marauding terrorists. He should also improve relations with our neighbouring countries whose cooperation and support will be essential in the war against terrorism.
The United States military has drawn up air and ground strike plans on Nigeria according to defence officials.
Trump recent designed Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” in response to allegations of a Christian genocide in the country.
He has also warned that the US would enter Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” to protect the Christian population.
The US leader had ordered the Pentagon to prepare to intervene militarily in Nigeria to protect Christians from attack by Islamic militants.
According to the New York Times, military officials said US forces are unlikely to end insurgency in Nigeria unless they resort to an Iraq or Afghanistan-style campaign
Current and former military officials reportedly said any major operation by the United States in Nigeria would likely fail.
It would be a fiasco,” said Paul Eaton, a retired army veteran of the war in Iraq.
Eaton likened any potential effort by Trump to direct the military to target Nigerian insurgents through air strikes to “pounding a pillow”.
According to the report, military officials said there were several measures available to American military strategists that could have a limited effect on the militants.
They said the Air Force could carry out strikes on the few identified compounds in northern Nigeria that are occupied by militant groups, with American drones such as the MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1 Predator targeting a few vehicles and even some convoys.
Additionally, American forces could collaborate with Nigerian troops to raid villages in order to eliminate insurgents who have taken shelter in rural areas of the country’s northern region.
These options were reportedly part of the plans that officials from the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) developed this week to present to the joint staff at the Pentagon.
AFRICOM staffers revisited their strategies for the Sahel and forwarded same to Washington.
According to three defence officials, the plans developed by the command presented three levels of options: light, medium, and heavy — all designed to be escalatory.
The light option, as described by the officials, involved what the military termed partner-enabled operations.
In this scenario, the US military and the state department would assist Nigerian governmental forces in targeting Boko Haram and other Islamic militants responsible for attacks, kidnappings, and murder of civilians, predominantly in northern Nigeria, where sectarian and ethnic conflicts have persisted for nearly two decades.
The medium option involves drone strikes on militant camps, bases, convoys, and vehicles situated in northern Nigeria.
The heavy option would entail deploying an aircraft carrier group into the Gulf of Guinea and sending in fighter jets and possibly long-range bombers to carry out strikes deep within northern Nigeria.
