Good morning, Nigeria. Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Saturday, 24th May, 2025.
1. 2027: Tinubu Gets APC Endorsement As Atiku, Peter Obi Camps Weigh Joint Ticket
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday secured the unanimous endorsement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee, all 22 APC governors, and leadership of the National Assembly to seek re-election in 2027, even as opposition leaders Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi weigh options for a joint ticket under a new coalition.
Naija News reports that the endorsement came at the APC National Policy and Development Summit, held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, where Tinubu expressed confidence that more opposition members would defect to the APC before the next general election.
“I am expecting more to come; that is the game. We are in a constitutional democracy that guarantees freedom of movement and freedom of association,” Tinubu said, responding to accusations of steering the country towards a one-party state.
The recent defection of prominent opposition figures—Senators Adamu Aliero, Yahaya Abdullahi, and Garba Maidoki—and the defection of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, along with his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa, and other top PDP leaders to the APC have left the PDP, Labour Party, and NNPP scrambling for survival.
2. ‘I Am Leaving The Party’ – Gov Eno Confirms His Plan To Dump PDP
The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, has announced his intention to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing ongoing leadership challenges and his desire to align with a party where he can openly support the work of President Bola Tinubu without facing accusations of anti-party activities.
Speaking in a viral video, Eno explained that the leadership crisis within the party influenced his decision to depart the PDP. He expressed his inability to continue in an environment where he could not freely praise the work of President Tinubu.
Naija News reports that the governor further compared himself to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who has been known for his outspoken nature and ability to confront any wrongs within the party.
Eno admitted that he lacked the political strength and boldness that Wike displays when challenging the party’s leadership.
3. El-Rufai’s Entrant Fuels SDP’s Leadership Crisis
The Social Democratic Party (SDP), previously hailed as the only major opposition party free of post-2023 election crisis, has now plunged into internal strife following the announcement of new appointments into its National Working Committee (NWC).
Last week, SDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, issued a statement announcing the appointment of Senator Ugochukwu Uba, Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar, and Mr. Hussani Ado Bello into three vacant positions: Deputy National Chairman (South), Deputy National Chairman (North), and National Financial Secretary, respectively.
The move was viewed in some quarters as a strategic restructuring ahead of the 2027 general elections. However, it has since ignited a leadership crisis threatening to fracture the party.
Contrary to Aiyenigba’s announcement, the party’s National Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, has refuted the claim, insisting no such appointments were made.
Speaking through the Deputy National Secretary, Muhammad Biu, in Abuja on Monday, Gabam described the reports as “unauthorized and false,” stating that the NWC had not convened a constitutional session to make such appointments.
4. Rivers Budget: ‘It Is A Pity That Someone Not Elected Is Going To Spend Taxpayers’ Money’ – Epelle Knocks Tinubu
The Chief Executive Officer of TAF Africa, Jake Epelle, has faulted President Bola Tinubu for presenting the 2025 budget of Rivers State to the National Assembly.
Naija News reports that Tinubu had on Thursday submitted the 2025 Appropriation Bill for Rivers State to the National Assembly for consideration, following the suspension of the state’s House of Assembly.
In a letter addressed to the Senate President, Senator Goodwill Akpabio, the ₦1.481 trillion proposed budget has major allocations aimed at revitalising key sectors.
However, in an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast show, The Morning Brief, on Friday, Epelle said Tinubu’s action marked the first time in Nigeria’s democratic history that a sitting President presented a state budget.
Epelle said it is worrisome that Tinubu has etched himself on the wrong side of history.
According to him, such action was ‘executive overreach,’ without legal or democratic justification for it.
Epelle revealed that there was initially an attempt to get the sole administrator to present the budget, but public scrutiny over its legality forced a change of strategy.
5. ‘I Believe In PDP’ – Saraki Give Details Of Strategic Meeting In Enugu
Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has expressed optimism that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will rise above the current leadership crisis and lead the country again.
Naija News reports that Saraki made this known after a PDP strategy and way forward committee meeting with Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, Senators Seriake Dickson and Ibrahim Dankwambo.
Saraki in a post via 𝕏 said the issues in the party were discussed and plans to move the party forward.
He said, “I just concluded a meeting in Enugu State with His Excellency, Governor Peter Mbah, alongside Senators Seriake Dickson and Ibrahim Dankwambo of the @OfficialPDPNig Strategy and Way Forward Committee.
“We didn’t sidestep the issues. We confronted the fractures in our foundation, asked the hard questions, and began shaping a real, workable plan to move our party forward.
“I believe in the PDP. I believe in what it has stood for and what it can still become, if we’re willing to do the hard, unglamorous work of rebuilding from the inside out.
“The road ahead won’t be easy. It will test us and demand more from each of us. But I leave Enugu more convinced than ever: we have the people, the resolve, and the clarity to rise to the occasion—and to lead again. #PowerToThePeople”
6. PDP Acting Chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum Denies APC Collusion
The acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Iliya Damagum, has firmly rejected allegations of incompetence and collusion with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), defending his leadership amid increasing criticisms within the party.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, Damagum addressed the accusations head-on, dismissing claims that he is a puppet of the APC and reaffirming his allegiance to the PDP.
“May God be judge between me and whoever slandered me, and may God judge us, if I am working for the APC,” he said, responding to allegations that he met with President Bola Tinubu in England.
He emphasized his long-standing commitment to the PDP, asserting, “I have a history, since I joined the PDP in 1999, I have never defected. Those who dislike me will have to find ways to either praise or criticise me to get what they want.”
Damagum also responded to mounting criticisms regarding his relationship with the former Rivers State Governor, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, a prominent figure in the APC government. Damagum acknowledged his association with Wike but rejected claims of any wrongdoing.
7. Governors Doing The Bidding Of ‘Asiwaju’ Govt – Salihu Lukman
A former National Vice Chairman (Northwest) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has stated that the coalition against the Bola Tinubu administration aims to contest the 2027 general elections by either forming a new political party or transforming an existing one.
He stated this during an appearance on Channels Television on Friday. According to him, some governors were doing the bidding of President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking further, Lukman disclosed that coalition members were working painstakingly on forming the coalition structure and determining who would be the leaders.
He said, “There is nothing stopping the coalition from coming to fruition.
“Even when the governors claimed, for instance, they were not part of the coalition, we responded clearly. Some of them, as you have seen, either have already moved to the APC or are on their way to move to the APC.
“So, clearly, they are doing the bidding of the APC and the ‘Asiwaju’ government. So, we are not bothered about that. We have the PDP bloc in the coalition and nothing is stopping the coalition.
“We are going through a painstaking process and very soon, we are going to come out and clarify all the details, in terms of how we are going to contest the 2027 elections and the leaders of the coalition; all those will be known.”
8. FCTA To Begin Takeover Of Revoked PDP, INEC, CBN, NNPC Lands
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced that it will commence taking possession of 4,794 properties revoked due to non-payment of Ground rent, which have been outstanding for periods ranging from 10 to 43 years, starting next Monday.
The administration indicated that it will proceed with the possession of these properties without regard to their ownership status.
Naija News reports that the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinka, along with the Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, and the Director of the Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, made this announcement during a news conference held on Friday in Abuja.
Recall that on March 19, 2025, the administration revoked the Wadata Plaza, which serves as the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) located in Wuse Zone 5, due to repeated failures to pay ground rents.
While officials from the administration clarified that the plaza is privately owned and not the property of the PDP, they noted that its owner, Samaila Mamman Kofi, who acquired it from Wadata and had his documents registered through Assignment, is in arrears for 28 years of ground rent from 1998 to 2025, amounting to N2.84 million.
9. Police Arraign Ruggedman, Others Over $130,000 Theft; Sunny Neji, Zakky Azzay ‘At Large’
Nigerian rapper Michael Ugochukwu Stephens, popularly known as Ruggedman, was arraigned on Friday at Yaba Magistrate Court 1, Lagos, alongside three others, over allegations of burglary, conspiracy, and theft of $130,000 from the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) national secretariat in Lekki.
The arraignment follows a May 12, 2025, petition filed by PMAN’s legal representatives on behalf of the association’s National President, Pretty Okafor.
According to police sources, the defendants include: Ruggedman (Michael Stephens), Fruitful Mekwunye, Boniface Itodo and Faga Bem-Paul.
Two others, Sunny Neji and Zakky Azzay, were said to be at large as of press time.
Sources disclosed to SaharaReporters that the charges currently before the court include conspiracy, breaking and entry, and cybercrimes, with police confirming that the charge sheet will be amended at the next hearing. Ruggedman and the others are currently in custody.
The petition accused the defendants, described as suspended or dismissed PMAN officials, of taking advantage of Pretty Okafor’s official trip to Spain in August 2024 to suspend him and take over the union’s operations unlawfully.
They were alleged to have forcefully broken into the PMAN secretariat, located at 4B Hameed Kasumu Street, Chevy View Estate, Lekki, and carted away $130,000 in cash as well as two Apple MacBook Pro laptops.
The suspects reportedly convened an unauthorised National Delegates Conference, where they installed a parallel leadership. This was backed by a controversial consent judgment secured at the National Industrial Court, using an address not recognised as PMAN’s registered office.
According to the petition, Okafor’s faction was not served any legal papers and deemed the ruling in suit NICN/LA/360/2024 null and void. The PMAN National Executive Council subsequently nullified the actions of the suspended members and reinstated Okafor as president.
10. This Season Is My Best Chance Of Winning Ballon d’Or – Mohamed Salah
Liverpool’s star forward, Mohamed Salah, believes that this current season represents his “best chance” at claiming the prestigious Ballon d’Or award.
Mohamed Salah has been instrumental in Liverpool’s success this season, contributing significantly to their triumph in the Premier League.
With an impressive tally of 28 goals and 18 assists, the 32-year-old has not only solidified his status as a key player for the Reds but has also emerged as a fierce contender for the league’s Golden Boot.
The Ballon d’Or winner will be revealed on September 22, and Salah is regarded as one of the frontrunners for this coveted honour.
Reflecting on his performances in an interview with Sky Sports, Salah said, “I would say I never had a season like this, especially with winning big trophies. So I would say this is my best chance to get it right now while I’m at the club because it’s been a crazy year, a crazy season with a trophy.”
However, Salah faces stiff competition for the Ballon d’Or from talented players like Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona’s rising star Lamine Yamal, both of whom have had remarkable seasons in their own right.
As the anticipation builds for the awards announcement, fans and pundits alike are eagerly watching to see if Salah can secure this career-defining honour for the first time in his career.
That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.
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