Newspapers Headlines October 25: Pantami, Adebutu, Tinubu, Others

Newspapers across Nigeria reported on a variety of topics from the APC Preisdential campaign flag off in Kaduna to the fear of being off the ballot for those left out of the list of candidates released by the independent national electoral commission…

Newspapers across Nigeria reported on a variety of topics from the APC Preisdential campaign flag off in Kaduna to the fear of being off the ballot for those left out of the list of candidates released by the independent national electoral commission.

Other issues in the sports and entertainment sectors also got prominent mentions.

1. The Punch leads with the continuing reverberations from the list of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission with the 2027 elections now less than 100 days.

The political ambitions of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Pantami, and former Ogun State governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, remain uncertain following the expiration on Saturday of the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission for addressing complaints over the omission of candidates from its final list for the 2027 elections.

The Peoples Democratic Party and the Nigeria Democratic Congress have complained to INEC about the exclusion of their candidates, but the commission has yet to indicate whether it will revise the list following the parties’ representations.

Findings by Sunday PUNCH showed that negotiations and legal efforts by the affected parties had yet to yield a resolution, leaving Pantami, Adebutu and the NDC governorship candidate in Kano State, Aminu Gwarzo, uncertain about their participation in the February 6, 2027 governorship elections. Read more in the Sunday Punch

2. The Nation in its front page lead looks at how the major Presidential contenders stand in each state in Southern Nigeria stand.

In Southern Nigeria, the build up to next year’s presidential poll is becoming deeply emotive.

Many analysts contend that it may be a continuation of the agitation for zoning and power shift.

Although the rotation concept is not explicitly provided for in the 1999 Constitution, it is a factor in inclusion, erasure of marginalisation and restoration of a sense of belonging.

The core element of the cross-regional understanding is that after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari from the North, the South should produce his successor for eight years. Read more in The Nation

3. The Sunday Vanguard leads with the story from the flag off of the Presidential campaign of the All Progressives Congress in Kaduna.

President Bola Tinubu on Saturday opened the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign in Kaduna with a direct attack on his political opponents, accusing them of creating the hunger and poverty currently facing Nigerians, while asking supporters to mobilise for his re-election on January 16, 2027.

The President described the opposition as failures and angry people who rely on heckling instead of constructive policy, saying they have nothing to offer the country.

Addressing the crowd at the campaign flag-off, Tinubu said: “I hear my opponents talking about hunger and poverty. Who created it? They did. They created the hunger. They created the poverty we are trying to eradicate.” Read more in Sunday Vanguard

4. This Day in one of its lead stories focuses on the surge in Crude Oil pricess in the Inrernational market to $117 per barrel and likely impact on the domestic market as strait of Hormuz and the wider middle east crisis continue.

Crude oil prices surged above $117 a barrel at the weekend, reaching their highest level since April, as fears of renewed US military strikes on Iran and escalating threats to energy infrastructure across the Middle East heightened concerns about global crude supplies.

This comes as oil theft and pipeline losses in Nigeria fell by 82.9 per cent in five years, from 102,900 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 17,600 bpd in the first seven months of 2026, amid fresh concerns about further increases in lost volumes after years of decline.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Navy has uncovered 132,000 litres of stolen crude oil in Allison community, Bonny Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State, disrupting a potential storage point in the illicit petroleum supply chain as troops of Operation Delta Sentinel intensified their clampdown on oil theft and economic saboteurs in the Niger Delta region. Read more in This Day

5. The Guardian in one of its lead stories reports on the demand for a probe into insecurity in South East Nigeria in the wake of the abduction of 20 prospective Corps members in Imo State.

The National President of the Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), Lolo Nneka Chimezie, has challenged the attribution of insecurity in the South-East to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and Igbo youths, arguing that the identities of five suspects arraigned over the abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members warrant a broader investigation.

Chimezie also called for a review of military deployments and security checkpoints across the region, alleging that their proliferation had failed to curb kidnapping and other violent crimes. She urged South-East governors and community leaders to strengthen local vigilante structures and improve cooperation with law enforcement agencies. Read more in The Guardian

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