Today’s Headlines: Tinubu Can Break Obi’s Southeast Hold-Group, Nnamdi Kanu Makes Demand From Prison

The Ndigbo for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Forum has expressed the view that President Bola Tinubu could challenge Peter Obi’s political support in the South-East ahead of the 2027 presidential election. However, the group cautioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against assuming that political appointments, endorsements and campaign rallies would automatically translate into electoral votes.

The group maintained that voters in the South-East were not permanently committed to one political party or presidential candidate. To support its position, it referred to the 2003 presidential election, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo secured substantial support in the region despite the participation of the late Igbo leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, in the presidential race.

The position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the forum’s National Coordinator, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and Secretary-General, Ugwuoke Ugwuoke Jr., and obtained by The PUNCH. According to the group, the 2003 election demonstrated that political choices in the South-East could change depending on voters’ interests and the circumstances surrounding an election.

The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has restated his demand for a referendum on the Biafran question, insisting that his position remains unchanged despite his conviction and imprisonment.

Kanu communicated his position in a message presented at the 2026 convention of the American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID) in the United States. He maintained that a referendum or the unilateral pursuit of Biafran sovereignty were the options he was willing to discuss regarding the future of the region.

In the message, Kanu rejected negotiations centred on political appointments, restructuring or another conference that, in his view, would not resolve the central issue. He stressed that he would not abandon his demand for a referendum, maintaining that his position on Biafran sovereignty had not changed.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Federal Capital Territory Council, and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing, have challenged the proposed enforcement of the no-work, no-pay policy against workers participating in the ongoing strike.

The Chairman of the NLC FCT Council, Mr Knabayi Adalo, and the Secretary of the NUT FCT Wing, Mrs Margaret Jethro, expressed their positions in separate circulars issued to their members on Sunday. The documents, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, described the directive as “unconstitutional, illegal, provocative and unenforceable”.

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike had reportedly directed area council chairmen on Friday to implement the policy against striking workers. The directive followed an indefinite strike declared by the NLC on October 7 over unresolved disputes between the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the NUT.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has disclosed that the Supreme Court handled 2,456 matters and delivered 411 judgments during the 2025/2026 legal year.

She made the disclosure on Monday at a special session of the Supreme Court in Abuja to mark the commencement of the 2026/2027 legal year. According to the Chief Justice, the matters handled included 1,179 general civil motions, 573 criminal motions, 13 Sharia-related motions and 676 appeals.

Kekere-Ekun further explained that the appeals comprised 433 general civil appeals, 212 criminal appeals, 19 political appeals, 12 Sharia appeals and 10 originating summons. She noted that the court had handled 2,280 matters and delivered 369 judgments and rulings during the preceding legal year, compared with the figures recorded in 2025/2026.

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