T he Independent National Electoral Commission has turned down former President Goodluck Jonathan’s nomination as PDP presidential candidate for 2027. The rejection came on Friday, a few hours after a group led by Kabiru Turaki said it submitted Jonathan’s name and other PDP candidate lists in person at INEC headquarters. The development has deepened the party’s leadership crisis ahead of the next election. Vanguard Newspaper reports that INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, said the commission only accepts online filings.   “Every nomination must be done through our portal. We no longer take physical submissions,” she stated. But the Turaki camp said it was left with no choice. National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, told reporters that INEC refused to release the login codes needed for online upload. He argued the codes are not part of the law. “Because INEC blocked us from the portal, we delivered everything by hand. It is valid...

P resident Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced that 21 people abducted in Kogi State last week have been rescued alive. The group includes 15 members of the National Youth Service Corps and 6 other Nigerians. They were freed on Sunday in the forests of Ofu Local Government Area following a joint operation by the military, police, DSS and local vigilantes. In his statement, the President said the victims 8 men and 13 women are receiving medical care and will soon be reunited with their families. “I am delighted to receive the news that the fifteen members of the National Youth Service Corps and six other innocent and law-abiding Nigerians abducted last week in Kogi State have regained their freedom,” Tinubu said. Although the rescue was successful, the President said the operation is not over. He ordered security agencies to keep going until every suspect linked to the abduction is arrested. “Those responsible will face the full weight of the law, and our security agencies will pursue every...