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Rep Philip Agbese credits Speaker Abbas for opposition lawmakers backing Tinubu

The National Assembly complex in Abuja
Stock image: Kabusa16 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Philip Agbese, deputy spokesman of the House of Representatives, says the growing support for President Bola Tinubu among opposition lawmakers is due to the leadership of Speaker Abbas Tajudeen.

What he said

In an interview in Abuja on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, Agbese, a Labour Party member representing Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency in Benue State, said the Speaker had created a working environment that put national interests above party loyalty. He said lawmakers from different parties had been given a real sense of involvement, pointing to how committee chairmanships, deputy chairmanships and memberships were shared.

Background

Agbese is one of the most prominent opposition lawmakers openly backing the President's re-election. A number of opposition lawmakers and politicians have defected to the APC or declared support for Tinubu in recent months, while others have joined new opposition platforms such as the ADC and the NDC.

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PoliticsReported
The National Assembly complex in Abuja
Stock image: Kabusa16 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Orji Kalu says he once sold arms to anyone willing to pay, until his parents stopped him

Former Abia governor Orji Uzor Kalu has said in a television interview that he previously sold weapons to individuals and countries that could pay, and stopped only after his parents told him to.

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Former Abia State governor and senator Orji Uzor Kalu has said he once sold weapons to individuals and countries.

What he said

Speaking in a television interview reported on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, Kalu said he sold arms to anyone willing to pay, and that he was interested only in making money at the time, not in how the weapons would be used. He said he stopped after his mother and father told him to. Asked whether he had supplied the African National Congress during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, he said the ANC was not a specific customer and that he sold to anybody who wanted to buy. He did not say when the business took place or name any buyers.

Background

Kalu, a businessman and politician, governed Abia State from 1999 to 2007 and later served as senator for Abia North. He was convicted of fraud in 2019, but the Supreme Court later set the conviction aside on technical grounds. He has recently been in the news over comments on the Senate presidency and predictions about the 2027 election.

Politics
President Bola Tinubu
Photo: Nosa Asemota / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Jigawa declares holiday as Tinubu visits for rally and project launches

Jigawa State declared Tuesday a public holiday for President Tinubu's first official visit since 2023. He is due to hold an APC rally and commission projects including an agricultural mechanisation programme with 400 tractors.

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Jigawa State has declared Tuesday, 10 November 2026, a public holiday for a visit by President Bola Tinubu.

The visit

Governor Umar Namadi told journalists in Dutse on Monday that the President would hold an All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally and inaugurate four projects. He said it would be Tinubu's first official visit to the state since he took office in May 2023. The projects include a technical services centre, a skills acquisition centre named after the President, an agricultural mechanisation programme and a dualised road in Dutse.

The farm equipment

The agricultural package includes 400 tractors, 60 combine harvesters, 150 boom sprayers and 150 seeders, along with other equipment intended to boost farm output in the state.

Power pledge at the rally

At the APC rally in Jigawa, Tinubu promised to lower the cost of living and provide reliable electricity, saying the old privatisation model was not working. During his 2023 campaign he said Nigerians should not re-elect him if he failed to provide stable power in his first term.

Background

The Jigawa visit continues the President's campaign tour, which in the past week has taken him to Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Ebonyi states. Namadi, elected on the APC platform in 2023, is a strong supporter of the President's re-election. The North-West, which includes Jigawa, has one of the largest voting populations in Nigeria.

PoliticsReported
Collage of a man in a red cap speaking into a microphone, Works Minister David Umahi in a white cap, and Cubana Chief Priest
Photo: Trend Naija

"Pharaoh, let my people go!": Cubana Chief Priest replies Umahi, accuses him of giving Tinubu fake promises on South-East votes

Cubana Chief Priest has fired back at Works Minister David Umahi, nicknaming him "Pharaoh" and accusing him of making empty promises to President Tinubu about South-East votes. He also claimed Umahi is preparing his son to become Ebonyi governor, and mocked him with his own "money na water" catchphrase.

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Socialite and businessman Cubana Chief Priest has replied Minister of Works David Umahi, a day after the minister mocked his famous "money na water" catchphrase and asked how many people he has given scholarships.

"Pharaoh, let my people go"

Borrowing from the Bible story of Moses and Pharaoh, Cubana Chief Priest gave the minister a new nickname, and accused him of making promises to President Bola Tinubu that he cannot deliver.

"Pharaoh, let my people go. Stop giving Tinubu fake promises on votes. What project are you using to convince South-East people to vote for him?" he said.

The governorship claim

He went further, claiming that Umahi is preparing his son to become governor of Ebonyi State after the current governor, Francis Nwifuru.

Speaking partly in Pidgin, he said, in effect: "You're busy preparing your son to be governor after Nwifuru. God won't let that happen. You want to use Ebonyi State to settle your child. Let the young man come and meet us on the street so we can teach him how to make 'money na water'."

This is Cubana Chief Priest's claim, and Umahi has not yet responded to this latest attack.

How it started

The exchange began weeks ago when Cubana Chief Priest described Umahi as the second-worst minister from the South-East. Umahi hit back by telling him he was "becoming very noisy", comparing him unfavourably with Dangote and Otedola, and asking, "How many people have you given scholarships?"

Now the socialite has turned the argument back to politics, questioning what Umahi has done to win South-East votes for the President.

Over to you

Who is winning this war of words: the minister or the socialite? And is Cubana Chief Priest right to question what the South-East has to show for supporting Tinubu?

SportReported
A football on a grass pitch
Stock image: Peter Glaser baraida / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Senate sets aside ₦100 million reward for World Cup-winning Flamingos

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has announced a ₦100 million reward for the Flamingos after their FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup win, following a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi, who said the team had received too little recognition.

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The Senate has set aside ₦100 million for the Flamingos, Nigeria's under-17 women's football team, after their victory at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

What happened

Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the reward during plenary on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, as the chamber considered a congratulatory motion moved by Senator Abdul Ningi of the ADC, who represents Bauchi Central. Ningi described the team's win as historic, saying the young players had achieved what many senior national teams had not, despite going into the tournament with little public attention. He said the players deserved far more publicity and a proper reception on their return.

Background

The Flamingos beat Japan 2-1 in the final in Rabat, Morocco, on 7 November to become the first African team to win the tournament, and Nigeria's first FIFA world champions in women's football at any level. FIFA does not pay prize money for the competition, but a sponsor of the National Sports Commission gave the team $50,000 in Rabat. NDC candidate Peter Obi said NFF officials stopped him from greeting the team at Abuja airport, a claim the Presidency said politicised the national teams.