Politics
Opposition Candidate, Atiku, Gains Momentum In Nigeria Election Race – Bloomberg
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari must think history is threatening to repeat itself as he watches his main challenger in February elections, Atiku Abubakar, do what he did three years ago: build a broad alliance to win power in Africa’s biggest oil producer.
Buhari, 75, rode atop a wide coalition to become the first opposition candidate to win a general election in the continent’s most populous nation. While Buhari tapped into a yearning to end years of corruption, Abubakar, 71, is capitalizing on the angst of the elite. He’s portraying himself as the friend of investors and ethnic minorities in his bid to oust the ruling All Progressives Congress.
“What is happening is that the elite now think there’s an option,” said Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer of Financial Derivatives Co., a risk advisory group based in the commercial hub of Lagos. “Before it was almost a certainty it was going to be a slam dunk for APC. With Atiku, they now have a fighting chance.”
When Abubakar last week reconciled with his ex-boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he took along influential Muslim and Christian clerics. It was a deft move in a country almost evenly split between a predominantly Christian south and a mainly Muslim north and racked by periodic outbursts of sectarian violence that critics say Buhari has managed poorly.
Political Establishment
Added to previous endorsements by most of the country’s ex-military elite, consultations with influential pressure groups in the north, southwest and the oil-rich Niger River delta, Abubakar appears to be having some success at cementing the backing of the political establishment.
“The implicit support of important religious leaders from across faiths is likely to give Atiku’s emerging campaign a further boost in a country where religious leaders wield mass influence,” Malte Liewerscheidt, London-based vice president of Teneo Intelligence, said in an emailed note on Monday.
The importance wasn’t lost on Buhari, who admonished religious leaders in a speech two days after the meeting about the perils of meddling in politics.
“Religious leaders should not be seen to involve themselves in partisan politics or political controversies,” he said. “Otherwise, they risk losing their status and public respect.”
There are ominous signs for Buhari. Despite strong support in the north, he failed in three attempts to be elected president until 2015, when he formed an alliance with key segments of the political elite and defectors from the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party.
Many of those allies, including Abubakar, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara and Sokoto state Governor Aminu Tambuwal, have deserted him. So have former army rulers such as Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, who toppled Buhari’s military administration in 1983.
While Buhari promised in the last campaign to calm Nigeria’s various security challenges, including the war against Islamist militants in the northeast, the violence continues. The president’s popularity has waned in the central region he won in 2015 over widespread perception he’s not done enough to end the grazing conflict that has devastated the area. Investors also blame Buhari for worsening a recession that resulted from an oil-price drop two years before he took office and deterring investment by imposing capital controls.
Anti-Corruption War
Buhari is still touting his anti-corruption war that critics say is mainly targeting his opponents. He signed an executive order on Oct. 13 that bars about 50 people, said to be facing graft investigations, from leaving the country.
He’s also expected to continue to question whether Abubakar, considered one of the richest people on Nigeria’s political scene, acquired his wealth legitimately. A former top customs official, he later became a major shareholder in Intels Nigeria Ltd., an oil-service company.
While the momentum may now appear to be in favor of the opposition, victory is far from certain, according to analysts including Liewerscheidt and Rewane.
Abubakar’s choice of running mate, Peter Obi, a former state governor with a good track record, may help lock down votes in the southeast, where the majority Igbo people have complained about a lack of national representation since their leaders tried to secede from Nigeria in the Biafra civil war in the 1960s.
But the choice of Obi also carries the risk of tilting votes in the ethnically Yoruba-dominated southwest, a key swing region where Vice President Yemi Osinbajo comes from, firmly in favor of the Buhari.
“This election is going to boil down to who wins the southwest,” Rewane said. “It’s true that Atiku’s campaign experience gives the PDP a chance. But then the APC is not going to fold its hands and lie down.”
Obasa Appointed to CPA African Executive Committee
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, has been appointed as a Sub-National Representative to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) African Executive Committee.
The announcement was formally conveyed through a letter from the CPA Africa Region, which was read on the floor of the Assembly by the Clerk, Mr. Olalekan Onafeko, on Tuesday, March 10. The appointment confirms Speaker Obasa’s three-year tenure, spanning 2026 to 2029.
Lawmakers took turns to congratulate Speaker Obasa, praising his devotion to parliamentary service and his consistent efforts to strengthen legislative practice. They described his appointment as a recognition of his hard work and a reflection of Lagos State’s growing influence within the Commonwealth. Members noted that his achievements continue to bring pride not only to Lagos but to Nigeria as a whole.
In his remarks, Speaker Obasa expressed gratitude to his colleagues for their support, urging them to remain steadfast in prioritizing the progress of the Assembly and to continue working collectively to advance the legislature. He further directed the Clerk to send a formal letter of appreciation to the CPA African Region for the honour bestowed upon him. “Let us always put the House of Assembly first and never relent in our efforts to move the legislature forward, ” Obasa concluded.
The CPA African Region plays a pivotal role in advancing the interests of African parliaments within the Commonwealth. It is widely recognized for promoting gender equality, women’s empowerment, respect for human rights, democracy, and good governance across member nations.
TINUBU RENEWS TENURE OF THREE PERMANENT SECRETARIES
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the renewal of tenure for three Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service, in line with existing public service regulations.
The approval was disclosed in a statement issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, indicating that the renewed appointments will take effect from April 27, 2026.
The affected officials include Kachallom Shangti Daju, Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare; Beatrice Jedy‑Agba, Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Justice; and Mary Ada Ogbe, Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Regional Development.
According to the statement, the renewal represents a second and final four-year tenure for the officials, in accordance with the provisions of Public Service Rule 020909, which allows Permanent Secretaries an initial four-year term with the possibility of a second term based on satisfactory performance.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson‑Jack, congratulated the Permanent Secretaries on their reappointment and urged them to see the renewed mandate as a call to greater dedication and excellence in service delivery.
She further encouraged them to deploy their experience and professional expertise toward strengthening governance and advancing national development.
The statement was signed by Eno Olotu, Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and dated March 6, 2026.
Politics
Governor Dauda Lawal’s Prompt Action Against Insecurity in Zamfara State Yielding Positive Result’ – GDL Media Force Fires Back at Critics
‘Governor Dauda Lawal’s Prompt Action Against Insecurity in Zamfara State Yielding Positive Result’ – GDL Media Force Fires Back at Critics
The attention of GDL Media Force and other well-meaning supporters of the Dauda Lawal-led administration has been drawn to a recent statement syndicated on social media by influencers from a group calling itself the Zamfara Good Governance Forum, which ludicrously attempted to portray the Governor’s security efforts as a “total failure.” This characterisation is not only divorced from reality. Still, it represents a desperate attempt by political opponents to rewrite history and undermine a Governor whose growing influence and performance clearly terrify them. It should be on record that in the whole of the North West region, Governor Dauda Lawal has tackled insecurity head-on with verifiable evidence that even those in the opposition have commended him for his huge investment in equipment that will further give security and armed forces an edge over those fueling insecurity in the country.
Since his assumption as Governor of Zamfara State, Dr Lawal has vowed that as the Chief Security Officer of the state, as well as the chief rescuer, an unprecedented commitment to tackling the security challenges that have plagued Zamfara for over a decade is his top priority and he is engaging it with much gusto. Unlike previous administrations, that engaged in shadowy deals with non-state actors, this Governor has chosen the path of transparency, capacity building, and decisive action. He was one of the Governors who openly declared that His administration would not negotiate with bandit rather his administration with fight them to a standstill and ensure they are cleared out.
In a bid to address the issues of insecurity with a well-planned arrival plan, he procured heavy Security Assets that even the Federal Government commended, him for. The recently procured and unveiled 25 units of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and an 80-meter endurance surveillance drone capable of covering 50 kilometres and operating continuously for eight hours. This represents the single largest state-government investment in security hardware in the history of Zamfara State.
The Defence Minister, during the inauguration ceremony, praised what he described as a clear demonstration of the Governor’s commitment to protecting lives and property, making the striking projection that “if we continue like this in the second term, Zamfara will look like Dubai”. This is not praise from a partisan source it is professional acknowledgement from the highest level of Nigeria’s defence establishment that Governor Lawal is doing something right.
Beyond heavy military hardware, the Governor has operationalised the Community Protection Guards in accordance with the law, providing them with 60 brand-new, well-equipped Hilux operational vehicles and specialised motorcycles to ensure swift response and effective first-responder services in difficult terrains. This is complemented by the distribution of 150 Hilux vehicles to mainstream security agencies including the Nigeria Police, DSS, and NSCDC, plus 20 Toyota Buffalo vehicles (both armoured and soft-body).
Perhaps most significantly, Governor Lawal established the Zamfara State Security Trust Fund, which provides a predictable, structured framework for logistical support to security forces. This moves the state away from the era of fragmented, reactive responses to a professional, sustainable security architecture.
When recent attacks occurred including the unfortunate February 19 incident in Anka LGA, Governor Lawal did not go into hiding or issue condolence statements from his office in Gusau. He immediately convened and personally presided over an emergency security meeting with all heads of security agencies at the Government House in Gusau, tasking them to urgently review the current security framework and implement coordinated countermeasures.
The Governor charged security chiefs to maintain “heightened vigilance, strengthened intelligence, and immediate, coordinated countermeasures” to ensure that criminal elements do not gain further ground. He also commiserated with affected communities and assured them of his administration’s full support both logistical and institutional. This is not the behaviour of a detached leader. This is the conduct of a Governor who understands that his primary constitutional responsibility is the protection of lives and property.
The public needs to understand the pedigree of those behind these allegations. The so-called “Zamfara Good Governance Forum” has a well-documented history of partisan attacks against Governor Lawal. A simple review of their previous statements reveals a pattern they have consistently attacked the Governor while remaining conspicuously silent during the administrations that presided over the worst years of banditry in the state. Interestingly, these attacks often coincide with political manoeuvres by the immediate past governor, Bello Matawalle, now Minister of State for Defence. The Zamfara State Government has previously accused Matawalle of using federal security apparatus to intimidate opposition figures in the state. The current criticism fits a familiar pattern, when you cannot defeat a Governor politically or at the ballot box, you attempt to undermine him through sponsored propaganda spreading sheer falsehood to ensure the public turns their back on a performing Governor who is rebuilding the rot the Matawale-led administration caused.
These same critics who now demand a “security roadmap” conveniently ignore that Governor Lawal inherited a state that was virtually a failed entity where farmers could not access their lands, where markets were paralysed, and where government had lost all credibility through failed negotiations and ransom payments to bandits.
Critics also conveniently ignore a fundamental reality Governor Lawal is the only opposition governor in the entire North-West geopolitical zone. Since taking office in 2023, his administration has received no federal intervention funds beyond statutory allocations no special palliatives, and no enhanced security support that flows to states with ruling-party governors. Yet despite this political isolation, he has managed to fund security without resorting to new borrowing, while monthly servicing N1.2 billion in inherited debts from the Bello Matawalle-led administration. This is governance under siege fiscally constrained, politically isolated, yet still delivering.
Governor Dauda Lawal has never claimed that the battle against banditry is easy or that success will come overnight. What he has demonstrated is sincerity of purpose, strategic vision, and relentless commitment. From the Security Trust Fund to community protection guards, from armoured personnel carriers to surveillance drones, these are not the actions of a leader who has failed. The growing influence of Governor Lawal across the North-West clearly frightens those who benefited from the old order of insecurity. When banditry thrives, politicians who negotiate with criminals remain relevant. But when peace is restored through genuine security architecture, such elements become obsolete.
Zamfara State is on the path to lasting peace. The detractors may continue their campaign of falsehood, but the facts on the ground speak louder than their sponsored propaganda. Governor Dauda Lawal remains focused, undeterred, and absolutely committed to restoring full normalcy to every inch of Zamfara State. The people of Zamfara see the progress. The Federal Government acknowledges the investment. And history will remember who truly fought for the state’s liberation.
Signed: GDL Media Force Support Group
March 4, 2026
Abuja, Nigeria
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