Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged the Federal Government to investigate and prosecute him if it has evidence linking him to the alleged $16bn power expenditure while he was in government.

AWKA — The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is set to contest Saturday’s local government election in 20 of the 21 local government areas of Anambra State, with opposition parties failing to field candidates in the affected councils.

The only council where a contest is expected is Anambra East, where a candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) is challenging the incumbent local government chairman.

Speaking at a campaign rally for the election in Otuocha on Wednesday, Governor Chukwuma Soludo attributed the absence of opposition candidates to what he described as their assessment that challenging APGA would amount to a waste of resources.

Soludo said the outcome of the 2025 governorship election, in which he claimed to have secured 73 per cent of the votes, contributed to the decision by other political parties not to participate in the council poll.

“Anambra is a fortress of APGA. Following my 73 per cent score during the governorship election, other political parties felt there is no need for them to waste their money in Saturday’s local government election and that is why they ran away,” he said.

The governor said with no opposition candidates in 20 LGAs, voters in those councils would effectively be affirming the APGA candidates.

“In 20 out of the 21 LGAs, no party fielded any candidate and so in those LGAs, the people will just be doing affirmation because it is democracy.

“In 20 LGAs, no party is challenging APGA and proper election will take place only in Anambra East. Anambra is APGA and APGA is Anambra and so, none of them wanted to waste their time and money,” Soludo said.

The governor also highlighted some of his administration’s programmes, including free education, free antenatal and delivery services, youth empowerment and recruitment into the health and education sectors.

He said more than 300,000 women had benefited from the state’s free antenatal and delivery programme, while over 16,000 youths had been trained and empowered under the “One Youth, Two Skills” initiative.

Soludo added that the state had recruited 1,500 medical personnel and more than 8,000 teachers as part of efforts to strengthen primary healthcare and education.

“We’re on massive acceleration in all the sectors,” he said.

On the 2027 general elections, Soludo said APGA was already preparing for the contests, adding that the party would unveil its candidates at the appropriate time.

“After booting, we launch and when we launch, it will be tsunami. Anambra is APGA land.

“We will unveil our presidential candidate, the senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates at the fullness of time,” he said.

Soludo said the party would commence its campaign for the general elections at the appropriate time, adding that the state would support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the presidential election as part of efforts to sustain collaboration with the Federal Government.

“Our campaign for general elections will come, but you know that apart from the presidential election which will go to our president, others will go to APGA.

“We will vote for the president so that we will continue with our collaboration because there are so many things in the offing, which will enable us get our share from the Federal Government,” he said.

The Presidency has blamed contractors for the poor state of the Benin-Agbor-Asaba Expressway, where commuters were reported to have been stuck for several days.

Speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare,
blamed the failure of the road on the contractors handling the ongoing work on the road.

Dare noted that the Federal Government responded swiftly to the public outcry by deploying key stakeholders to the affected section and demanding immediate action from the contractor.

According to him, the incident should not be used to assess the state of road projects across the country, stressing that several other federal roads had been completed or were progressing without similar complaints.

The president’s spokesman further said that the government had a responsibility to identify roads requiring repairs and provide funding, while contractors were expected to execute the projects properly.

“I think that first, these are isolated cases. And we all know by the nature of road construction, during the rainy season, you encounter problems like this.

“Whatever played out yesterday, we had all the stakeholders there. And it’s important that even though the contractor came out, even though
he gave excuses, it showed a failure on their part,” Dare said.

Dare’s remark came barely 24 hours after the Minister of Works, David Umahi, inspected the troubled Benin-Agbor-Asaba road in Edo State
and apologised to commuters over its condition.

Yesterday, APC Senatorial Candidate for Anambra Central, Senator Uche Ekwunife, CON, officially obtained the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ANSAA) Out-of-Home Political Campaign Permit ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

The permit, issued in preparation for the election scheduled for January 16, 2027, was presented on behalf of ANSAA by the Assistant General Manager and Officer-in-Charge, Engr. Ngobili Chika (ARPA), to Senator Uche Ekwunife, CON.

The approval authorizes the APC Senatorial Candidate to commence the lawful deployment of approved out-of-home political campaign materials across the Anambra Central Senatorial District, in line with the agency’s regulations and guidelines.

The permitted campaign materials include posters, banners, branded vehicles, public address systems, flyers, campaign T-shirts, street storm materials, rally branding, and other approved political publicity materials.

The development underscores the importance of conducting political campaigns within the framework of existing laws and regulatory requirements as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 elections.

ANSAA, as the state agency responsible for regulating signage and outdoor advertising.

With the permit secured, Senator Uche Ekwunife’s campaign team can now proceed with the deployment of approved outdoor campaign materials across Anambra Central in accordance with ANSAA regulations.

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The Presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr. Peter Obi, has disagreed with the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over his proposed return of fuel subsidy if elected in 2027.

Meanwhile, the presidential candidates of other opposition political parties, yesterday, clashed over Nigeria’s worsening security situation, policing structure, fuel subsidy and the economy as the race for the 2027 presidency took centre stage at the NBA, conference in Port Harcourt.

Obi, who accused the Federal Government of mismanaging the savings from the proceeds of fuel susidy removal, said it was not enough reason to bring it back.

The ex-governor of Anambra State spoke, yesterday, at the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while reacting to the debate over whether fuel subsidy should be restored as proposed by Atiku.

Atiku, who campaigned for the removal of fuel subsidy during the 2023, presidential election, had said he would restore the policy if elected president in 2027.

But Obi maintained that subsidy removal remained necessary, arguing that the problem was the failure to properly manage and invest the resources saved from the policy.

“I subscribe and I maintain that we need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it.

“What we should have done is that when we removed it, we should have given the people alternative usage for the subsidy.

“What we have today is that that removal and the attendant resources being recovered is also being mismanaged and stolen,” he said.

The former governor said he had anticipated the need for a structured approach to subsidy removal and had outlined his position in his manifesto ahead of the 2023 election.

“Go to my manifesto, I said it before, I said I will do it in an organised manner and whatever we recover would be invested appropriately,” Obi said.

President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy on his inauguration day in May 2023, triggering a sharp increase in petrol prices and widespread concerns over the rising cost of living.

Amaechi, Sowore, other presidential candidates fault FG’s policies

The candidates, who spoke during a high-powered panel session, offered sharply different solutions to the country’s challenges, with some calling for a change of government, while others advocated deeper reforms of the existing system.

The debate came as the Chief of Staff to President Tinubu, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, defended the federal government’s proposed state police reform, saying the administration had confronted an issue that successive governments had avoided.

Former Rivers State governor and vice presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, said the economy could only be stabilised through massive job creation, local production and policies that would put more money in the pockets of Nigerians.

Amaechi, who recalled his record as governor of Rivers State, said his administration built more than 500 primary schools, over 300 health centres and more than 200 roads, while using intelligence gathering to drastically reduce crime.

He also promised that an Atiku Abubakar-Amaechi administration would ensure equitable distribution of political appointments across the country, criticising what he described as concentration of appointments under the Tinubu administration.

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, meanwhile, called for a change of government, arguing that Nigeria’s security crisis could not be resolved under the present leadership.

Sowore also took aim at the federal government’s fuel subsidy policy, insisting that he had consistently opposed subsidy because of the way it was administered.

He said: “If there is anybody that has been consistent in the removal of fuel subsidy, it has been me. The question about fuel subsidy is: who are you subsidising? You are subsidising the elite. You are subsidising the governors.”

On security, he and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, presidential candidate, Adewale Adebayo, argued that Nigeria required a change in leadership to tackle terrorism and other security threats.

Adebayo, however, differed with most of the candidates on the structure of policing, advocating a three-tier system involving federal, state and local government police.

Former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, said leadership remained the central issue confronting Nigeria, arguing that getting the leadership question right would have a multiplier effect on other sectors.

“If we get the leadership right, everything else will fall into place,” Duke said, while condemning the influence of ethnicity in Nigerian politics and advocating reforms to strengthen the country’s presidential system.

Earlier, Gbajabiamila, in a keynote address, titled “Policing in Transition,” said the Tinubu administration’s decision to pursue state police was aimed at addressing the limitations of the existing centralised policing system.

“Centralised policing without safeguards will bring about more chaos,” he warned, explaining that the proposed reform was designed around a dual policing system that would address existing gaps.

Addressing fears that state police could be abused by governors against political opponents, Gbajabiamila queried: “Who polices the police?”

He identified inadequate police manpower and deployment as major challenges, noting that Nigeria had about one policeman to every 650 people, compared with an international benchmark of one to every 450.

He added that the situation was worsened by the deployment of many police officers to administrative and escort duties, rather than core policing responsibilities.

The presidential aide also stressed training, professionalism and institutional safeguards, saying policing must become a respected career capable of attracting competent Nigerians.

He acknowledged that governors, as elected chief executives, must have executive authority but insisted that they should not be allowed to order the arrest of political opponents.

He also said police officers who rejected unlawful orders must be protected, arguing that such safeguards must be backed by strong institutions, rather than mere assurances.

The NBA conference thus provided one of the earliest major platforms for 2027 presidential hopefuls to publicly test their competing positions on security, economic management and governance, setting the stage for a potentially intense political contest ahead of the general elections.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said he will visit the Benin-Asaba road on Tuesday following widespread complaints, protests and severe gridlock caused by the deteriorating condition of the federal highway.

The supply of petrol from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery fell by 21 per cent in July 2026, while imports increased by 9 per cent, fresh data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed yesterday.

The development came despite an improvement in petrol stock sufficiency during the month, with available reserves rising to 22.4 days from 19.7 days in June, even as the country remained below the regulatory minimum fuel sufficiency threshold of 30 days.

According to the NMDPRA’s July 2026 Midstream and Downstream Statistics, average daily petrol receipts fell from 50.6 million litres in June to 45.5 million litres in July, representing a 10 per cent month-on-month decline.

The contraction was driven principally by domestic supply undertaken by the Dangote Refinery, which dropped from 32.5 million litres per day to 25.8 million litres per day, a 21 per cent reduction. At the same time, imports rose from 18.1 million litres per day to 19.7 million litres per day, representing a 9 per cent increase.

The figures underlined a renewed increase in Nigeria’s reliance on imported petrol, following months in which domestic refining had increasingly displaced import as the debate over whether to end fuel importation altogether or create some form of competition for the Dangote facility rages.

However, the July figures also showed the significance of the Dangote refinery to the domestic market. The refinery recorded average capacity utilisation of 71.09 per cent during the month. It produced 25.9 million litres of petrol per day and supplied 25.8 million litres daily to the domestic market.

The refinery also produced 19.1 million litres per day of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel and 15.6 million litres per day of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK). Its domestic receipts stood at 15.7 million litres per day for AGO and 1.9 million litres per day for ATK.

But during the same period, exports amounted to 11 million litres per day of AGO and 11.6 million litres per day of ATK or kerosene. Its closing stock at the end of July stood at 446.1 million litres for PMS, 162.3 million litres for AGO and 217.4 million litres for ATK.

The month-on-month shift in petrol supply was particularly notable against the longer-term trend. In July 2025, domestic refineries supplied an average 16.5 million litres of PMS daily, while imports accounted for 36.1 million litres. By July 2026, domestic supply had risen 56 per cent year-on-year to 25.8 million litres per day, while imports had fallen 45 per cent to 19.7 million litres per day.

Thus, although imports increased between June and July 2026, they remained substantially below their level a year earlier. The July 2026 total PMS supply of 45.5 million litres per day was also 13 per cent below the 52.6 million litres recorded in July 2025.

In the same vein, the weaker petrol supply coincided with an even sharper fall in recorded consumption. PMS consumption dropped from 47.4 million litres per day in June to 35.7 million litres per day in July, representing a 25 per cent decline. NMDPRA said consumption data are based on volumes trucked out into the domestic market.

Despite the lower supply, the improvement in stock sufficiency suggestee that the decline in domestic withdrawals helped ease pressure on available petrol inventories. PMS stock sufficiency increased by about 14 per cent from 19.7 days in June to 22.4 days in July.

However, the figure remained below the 30-day minimum threshold, indicating that the improvement in inventories did not yet translate into a fully comfortable national supply position. The data also revealed significant movements in other petroleum products.

AGO supply jumped 46 per cent month-on-month from 16.2 million litres per day in June to 23.6 million litres per day in July. Domestic AGO supply, however, declined 3 per cent from 16.2 million litres to 15.7 million litres per day, meaning the increase in overall supply was driven by the resumption of imports, which reached 7.9 million litres per day in July from zero in June.

AGO consumption fell 8 per cent from 16 million litres to 14.7 million litres per day, while diesel stock sufficiency rose 25 per cent from 37.1 days to 46.5 days.

Also, LPG supply increased 4 per cent from 5.1 kilotonnes per day to 5.3 kilotonnes per day. Domestic LPG supply rose 22 per cent from 3.6 kilotonnes to 4.4 kilotonnes per day, more than offsetting a 40 per cent decline in imports from 1.5 kilotonnes to 0.9 kilotonnes per day.

In contrast, aviation fuel supply weakened during the period under consideration. ATK receipts declined 24 per cent from 2.5 million litres per day to 1.9 million litres per day, while consumption fell 41 per cent from 2.9 million litres to 1.7 million litres per day.

Crude oil receipts by domestic refineries also fell 8 per cent, from 0.632 million barrels per day in June to 0.585 million barrels per day in July. Besides, domestic gas supply declined 8 per cent from 5.116 billion standard cubic feet per day to 4.723 billion cubic feet per day.