AFNews World

Operation 19 Million Votes Commends Appointment of Uba Sani as Deputy DG,  ...Says Move Boosts National Mobilisation and Renewed Hope Agenda   A prominent political advocacy group, Operation 19 Million Votes, has warmly welcomed the recent appointment of Uba Sani, Governor of Kaduna State, as Deputy Director-General and Renewed Hope Ambassador in the All Progressives Congress (APC) mobilisation structure, saying the development is set to strengthen national confidence, deepen youth engagement and galvanise support for the party’s agenda ahead of the 2027 general elections. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as National Leader of the APC, on February 17, 2026, appointed Governor Sani to serve as Deputy Director-General (Deputy DG) of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors,a strategic outreach, engagement and mobilisation arm of the ruling party, in recognition of his “leadership and organisational abilities.” The appointment took effect immediately.  In a statement releas...

Don’t Pull the Plug: Why Nigerians Are Pleading for the U.S. to Extend Its Police Training Program — and Why It Must Synergize With New Military Arrivals *By Kingsley Okafor When approximately 100 American troops touched down at Bauchi Airfield in northern Nigeria on February 16, 2026, the development made international headlines. Major global news organizations — including the BBC, Associated Press, Deutsche Welle, and Task & Purpose — quickly moved to cover the story. It marked the first large-scale deployment of U.S. military trainers to Nigeria, arriving nearly two months after American strikes targeted Islamic State-linked militants in Sokoto State on Christmas Day 2025. For many Nigerians — particularly Christians and peace-loving communities across the embattled Middle Belt region — the sight of American boots on Nigerian soil felt like the long-awaited answer to years of desperate prayers for meaningful international support against insurgency and banditry. Yet ...

Renewed Hope Initiatives: President Ahmed Tinubu and the Solarization Drive in Nigeria’s Energy Sector Since assuming office in May 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has positioned energy reform as a cornerstone of his administration’s economic transformation agenda. Among the most consequential initiatives is the accelerated push toward solarization—the large-scale deployment of solar energy systems across public institutions, rural communities, and critical infrastructure. In a country long challenged by unreliable grid electricity, high diesel costs, and energy poverty, the solarization project represents both an economic and social intervention with far-reaching gains. In actualizing these gains, the Renewed Hope Agenda, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu saw the need to appoint someone with the right capacity, knowledge and verve to lead the sectors drive towards solarization of the nation, for a more focused sector that will ensure steady energy supply to all Nigerians. The ...

Ex-Councilors Demand Immediate Arrest of El-Rufai  Over Alleged Security Claims ...Say he's a security threat  The National Forum of Ex-Councilors of Nigeria has called for the immediate arrest of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over allegations bordering on national security. The group made the demand at a press conference held in Kaduna on Monday, February 16, 2026. National President of the Forum, Hon. Amb. Auwal Kasim Hassan, described El-Rufai as a threat to national security, alleging that the former governor had confessed to tapping the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. Hassan said the allegation by El-Rufai that he was marked for death through food poisoning allegedly orchestrated by the Office of the National Security Adviser was too serious to be ignored. According to him, the gravity of the claims warrants immediate action by security agencies to prevent what he described as attempts to whip up public sympathy from opposi...

Kaduna Victims' Coalition: Survivors and Families Demand Full Accountability for Abuses Under Nasir el-Rufai – No More Impunity, No More Silence We speak today as representatives of countless individuals, families, and communities who endured eight years of profound hardship, terror, fear, and loss under the governorship of Nasir el-Rufai in Kaduna State (2015–2023). Our coalition includes citizens from all walks of life: community and business leaders, serving and retired public servants, traditional rulers, faith leaders, academics, journalists, lawyers, and other professionals. Among the many victims are high-profile cases that symbolize the era's impunity: HRH Dr. Maiwada Raphael Galadima, the Agwam Adara (paramount ruler of the Adara Chiefdom), abducted in October 2018 and brutally murdered despite ransom payment. His killing occurred amid efforts to restructure traditional institutions, including the controversial conversion of the chiefdom into an emirate str...

Shehu Sani Defends Ribadu,Dismisses Elrufai’s claims Former Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has defended the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, dismissing allegations made against him by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as diversionary and unfounded. Sani, in a statement via his X handle @shehusani on Sunday, said the former governor should concentrate on addressing allegations reportedly raised against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission rather than making what he described as “phantom claims” against the National Security Adviser. “The ex-governor of Kaduna State should focus on the allegations before him and clear his name instead of diverting attention with his purported and phantom claims against the NSA,” Sani said. He questioned the timing of the allegations, asking why such sensitive information was not made public earlier. “Why the delay in disclosing such sensitive information to the public until when he was invit...

EFCC Invitation: Group Accuses El-Rufai of Diversionary Tactics, Urges Him to Face Charges A northern advocacy group, the Northern Progressives Forum for Development (NPFD), has asked former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, to “face the charges against him with the courage he claims to possess” rather than allegedly attempting to divert public attention with accusations against the National Security Adviser. The group’s position follows reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited El-Rufai over allegations bordering on corruption and mismanagement of public funds during his tenure as governor between 2015 and 2023. In a statement signed by Mal Musa Mohammed Sule and made available to journalists , the NPFD said it was concerned about what it described as “a pattern of diversionary narratives” coming from the former governor at a time he is expected to respond to anti-graft inquiries. El-Rufai had, in a letter dated January 30, 202...

Kano’s Power Shift: How the ‘City Boy’ Youth Surge is Redefining 2027 By Barrister Aminu Hussaini In politics, timing is everything. In Kano, the timing could not be more decisive. With the formal movement of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf into the All Progressives Congress (APC), the conversation about “possible alignment” between Kano and the federal government is no longer speculative. It has happened. The real question now is not whether Kano will realign—but how profoundly that realignment will reshape 2027. For a state long considered the strategic heartbeat of northern politics, this development is seismic. Kano is not just numerically significant; it is symbolically powerful. It has birthed movements, defined oppositions and influenced presidential trajectories. Any shift in its political center of gravity sends ripples across the federation. In 2023, the dominance of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) under the formidable influence of Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso appeare...

Senator Wamakko’s Empowerment Tsunami in Sokoto By Comrade Nasiru Goronyo Today, Sokoto is not merely experiencing empowerment; it is being swept by it. Across towns, villages and wards, a political force is translating leadership into livelihood, and that force is Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko. What is unfolding today is nothing short of an empowerment tsunami—loud, visible, relentless and impossible to ignore. This is not empowerment crafted for headlines alone. It is empowerment felt on the streets. Electric tricycles are rolling out to energise local transport and commerce. Motorcycles are restoring mobility to young hustlers. Sewing machines are reopening doors for women entrepreneurs. Grinding machines are reviving small-scale businesses. Food items are reaching homes strained by economic pressure. From Sokoto North to Sokoto South, from Wamakko to Kware, the impact is immediate and unmistakable: lives are moving again. At a time when many public office holders ar...

BREAKING NEWS: US Visa Ban on Kwankwaso ‘Ill-Informed, Politically Motivated’ — Group Fires Back ABUJA — Outrage is boiling over as the Kwankwasiyya Ambassadors for Good Governance (KAGG) has detonated a political bombshell, fiercely rejecting the proposed United States visa ban targeting former Kano State Governor and NNPP leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, describing it as “a calculated political attack dressed up as human rights advocacy.” In what analysts are already calling a diplomatic flashpoint, the KAGG group accused certain U.S. lawmakers of advancing what it termed a “dangerously shallow and geopolitically reckless narrative” that misrepresents Nigeria’s internal realities. In a blistering press release by the group's Coordinator, Barrister Abubakar Kurawa, the group said "This is not about religious freedom. This is not about accountability,” the group thundered. “This is about power, perception, and an attempt to redraw Nigeria’s political map from Washingt...

Shehu Sani responds to Elrufai’s Attacks on Tinubu,Says As Governor you didn’t practice what you are preaching to Tinubu. Former Senator representing Kaduna Central and human rights activist, Shehu Sani, has accused former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, of criticising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu out of frustration and unmet personal expectations rather than genuine concern for democracy or citizens’ welfare. Sani made the remarks during an interview with journalists, where he argued that El-Rufai ignored democratic principles and human rights while in office but only began championing them after leaving power. According to him, El-Rufai’s eight-year administration in Kaduna State was characterised by repression, insecurity and deep division, leaving behind what he described as a troubling legacy. “El-Rufai forgot democracy and human rights when he was in power and remembered them only when he left office,” Sani said. “He planted tyranny and insecurity and is n...

Family Of Slain Student Plan Protest In Kaduna Over Alleged Neglect The family of late Ahmed Musa are set to embark on a mass protest in the city of Kaduna state following what they described as neglect in the part of the state government after the death of their beloved son. According to the father of the deceased, Comrade Musa Mohammed otherwise known as moonlight told our reporter that all promises made by the authority were broken, as justice suffered. The deceased who was a student of Government Technical College Malali, Kaduna was said to have been brutally killed in February 16th, 2025 by some students of the school. An experience that has left many from within and far in a state of dilemma, as the family of the late Ahmed Musa are yet to get justice. The father of the deceased who is a senior journalist explained that despite the horrible experience and the trauma, the school authority and the state government continued to show no concern over the matter. "The ...

Southern Kaduna Activist Blasts El-Rufai Over Comments on Insecurity A Southern Kaduna activist, Steven Kefas, has launched a blistering attack on former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, over his recent comments on national security and citizens’ wellbeing. El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna State between 2015 and 2023, had taken to his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), to share a commentary titled “National Security, Justice, and the People’s Wellbeing: Reclaiming the Purpose of Power.” In the post, the former governor reflected on governance, justice, and the need for leaders to prioritise the safety and welfare of citizens. However, Kefas, a vocal rights advocate from Southern Kaduna, responded sharply, accusing El-Rufai of lacking the moral authority to speak on security matters. “You, amongst all people, do not have the moral standing to talk about security and the people’s wellbeing,” Kefas wrote on his X handle. “You are one of the architects of ...

The Senate of the National Assembly in passing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026, generated controversy by removing or not making mandatory the clause for real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) result-viewing portal.   Political leaders and critics — including opposition parties, civil society groups, and activists — argue the move undermines electoral transparency and could erode trust ahead of the 2027 general elections. While some senators later clarified that electronic transmission remains permitted under the retained law and only the “real-time” wording was dropped, public outcry continues over fears of ambiguity and potential loopholes in the results process.   Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has not aligned fully with the Senate’s controversial adjustment on electronic transmission of election results. While the Senate’s version of the Electoral Act (Amen...

Poor Performance: Kaduna Elders Ask Senator Lawal Adamu to Account for Stewardship ... Accuses of him of Being only Visible on Social media  The Kaduna Central Elders Forum has asked Senator Lawal Adamu Usman, representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, to render an account of his stewardship at the National Assembly, citing what it described as poor performance and weak engagement with constituents since his election. The elders accused the senator of being more visible on social media than in the communities he represents, saying his approach to representation has failed to address the pressing challenges facing Kaduna Central. In a statement jointly issued and signed by Mal. Inuwa Rigachikun and Mr Moses Bulus Madami, the forum described Senator Lawal Adamu as a lawmaker who relies largely on Facebook posts to communicate with constituents, rather than regular physical engagement, consultations and constituency outreach. “Our Kaduna senator appears to exist only...