Pocket News Nigeria

By Onjefu Odaudu  *When a president vanishes for 3 months, a democracy learns how fragile its rules really are.* *A President Disappears* On 23 November 2009, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua boarded a plane to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for treatment of pericarditis. He was 58, and his health had been failing for years. What was meant to be a short medical trip turned into a constitutional crisis. Yar’Adua left without sending the required letter to the National Assembly handing power to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution was clear: if the president is going to be absent, he must notify the legislature. Yar’Adua didn’t. For 87 days, Nigeria had a president who couldn’t govern and a vice president who couldn’t act. *The Silence and the “Cabal”* Information about Yar’Adua’s condition was controlled by a tight inner circle, led by First Lady Turai Yar’Adua. Ministers, state governors, and even Jonathan were denied access. The presidency insiste...

   _By Sports Correspondent_ Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan secured gold in the women’s 100m hurdles at the African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra on Tuesday, clocking 12.83 seconds to open Nigeria’s gold medal account.  The world record holder led from start to finish, extending her dominance in the event with a third continental title. Zimbabwe’s Ashley Miller finished second, while Nigeria’s Adaobi Tabugbo took bronze.  Amusan, who also won the title in 2018, 2022 and 2024, said the victory was for young African athletes told they could not succeed in hurdling.  Nigeria added silver and bronze in the women’s discus through Divine Oladipo and Obiageri Amaechi on the same day. This is her 3rd African Championships gold in the event — 2018, 2022, 2024, and now 2026. And she got the medal handed to her by Sebastian Coe himself.

Donald Trump lands in Beijing for a high-stakes two-day visit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping Vice-President Han Zheng was at the tarmac to receive Trump as he walked down the steps from Air Force One. Han is among China’s top leaders and sending him to receive Trump is being read as Beijing showing the US president respect. Last time, during his 2017 visit, they sent a lower-level leader, State Councillor Yang Jiechi. Han also attended Trump’s inauguration last year. Joining Trump on his trip to China are some of the US's top business leaders. Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, and Larry Fink of BlackRock, are among those the US president says are travelling with him. "I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level," Trump says in a post on social m...

By Casnova Yes — an Obi–Kwankwaso combination could become one of the strongest opposition tickets in Nigeria, especially if they successfully unite southern urban voters with northern grassroots support. But “could win” is different from “likely to win.” Here’s why many people think the combination is politically dangerous to the ruling APC: Peter Obi has strong support among many young voters, professionals, and southern urban populations. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has a loyal political structure in Kano and influence in parts of northern Nigeria through the Kwankwasiyya movement. In 2023, opposition votes were split among Obi, Atiku, and Kwankwaso. Analysts often argue that a united opposition would have made the election far tighter. Supporters believe combining the “Obidient” movement and “Kwankwasiyya” network could create a rare North–South coalition. Several political reports and discussions have focused on this possibility. But there are still serious problems: Structur...

By Eric Ukala There’s a simple way to tell if a political defection matters. Watch the people who claim it doesn’t, if they’re quiet, it was nothing, if they’re holding press conferences, writing threads, and suddenly remembering 2014 tweets, the defection just gave them a headache. Peter Obi’s move to the NDC did just that. The same opponents who spent years calling him “structureless,” “a social media candidate,” and “a regional aspirant” are now drafting obituaries for the Obidient Movement and holding strategy meetings at 2 a.m. You don’t call an ambulance for a mosquito bite. So why the noise? Defection only hurts when the defector has value.  In Nigerian politics, we’ve normalized cross-carpeting as seasonal migration so it is expected. Nobody blinked when all the South East Governors (except Otti) defected to the APC, not even when  senators defected but Obi’s move has caused seizures because he isn’t just a politician, he is a symbol. For his base, he is pr...

By Jeff Odaudu, Jos, Nigeria.  A frontline aspirant for the Mangu/Bokkos House of Representatives seat in the national assembly Chief. Mrs Josephine Dayilim has  assured her teeming supporters of quality representation if elected in the 2027 general elections to represent her constituency. She stated this  when she picked her nomination and expression of interest forms recently at the All Progressives Congress(APC) Plateau State Secretariat Kalwa House, Jos Plateau State. Flanked by her supporters she unveiled a people centric vision anchored on education, women and youth empowerment and community transformation for the socio economic improvement of the Mangu/Bokkos Federal Constituency. In her words: "We aim to invigorate renewed and sustained energy into my zone which is Mangu and Bokkos through laws and programmes that will impact directly into the lives of my constituents" She said she would aim to give everyone a sense of belonging through inc...