News
Jandor: Tinubu didn’t endorses Hamzat *I’ve briefed President on my ambition
It is not true that President Bola Tinubu has settled for Obafemi Hamzat, currently Deputy Governor, as his choice to replace Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his boss in next year’s governorship election in Lagos.
This angle came from Abdulazeez Adediran, who is also eying the number one job in the state after missing it in 2023, when he contested for it on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), coming third behind Sanwo-Olu the winner and Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour of the Labour Party (LP).
Against the backdrop of emerging stories in recent days that both the President and the powerbrokers in Lagos, had settled for the Hamzat, Adediran, popularly known as “Jandor,” told his host while appearing on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television he would be one of the first to know about such a development, being very much keen for the job.
His words: “He (Hamzat) hasn’t even said to us himself that he is running. He is the deputy governor of Lagos, qualified, with over 20 years of experience in that space. As we speak, the party says it’s going to be direct primaries. If tomorrow it says this is what we are doing, we will fall in line. The party is supreme.
“No, the President hasn’t endorsed anyone. I am an aspirant, and we are a few people also gunning for this. We will be the first set of people to know if there is anything like that because communication will come.”
Revealing his own encounter with the President over the matter, the former PDP candidate, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), last year, admitted that Tinubu neither discouraged him from contesting nor promised him the party’s ticket.
He said his earlier attempt to poach for the job was based on his belief that he could deliver adding that even Tinubu made his own ambition to run for offices open before going for them.
Jandor, who spoke on the political profile in the state, also announced the death of any opposition to the ruling APC structure, adding that though he trusted in his own ability to take over from Sanwo-Olu, he would support any candidate the party produced if he was not favoured.
Hear him: “Absolutely, because if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will believe in you. When the President was running for the ticket, he came out to say he wanted to run. Lagos politics is increasingly consolidating. There is nothing like opposition again in the state. I will support the party if I fail to secure its ticket.
With Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu serving his final term, the race for the 2027 Lagos governorship is gathering pace within the APC.
Prominent figures who have been rumoured to be intersted in the seat include Hamzat, former governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Tokunbo Abiru, an aide to the President, Hakeem Muri-Okunola; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa.
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, announced the approval of the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of ₦10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, who conveyed the development to the public, said the fund would strengthen the operational preparedness of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical national public health emergency response activities.
To be chaired by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, the committee with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state representatives is also expected to get briefings on their plans to contain the disease.
Onanuga, stated that Tinubu also specifically directed all states hosting international airports and international border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to submit their plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for consideration and coordinated implementation.
Stating that the President’s move followed a stakeholder meeting convened under the CoS to review Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into the country., the statement informed that the Task Force would also intensify passenger screening at all international airports through enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control protocols.
Other measures would also include enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving through high-risk airline routes, including Air Uganda, Rwanda Air, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines; and the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow.
Other measures include the mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk countries, as well as the disinfection of departure halls, cargoes, baggage areas and airport facilities as precautionary environmental measures.
The President also directed the advisory group to consult with security, diplomatic and aviation bodies on regulating flights from affected and designated high-risk countries and mandated the task force to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to enable controlled screening and isolation procedures, and to consider adjusting flight schedules to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and other travellers.
Justice Akintoye Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday ordered the remand of Paul Jibrin Oweleke in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged cybercrime offences linked to social media broadcasts that allegedly called for overthrow of President Bola Tinubu.
Specifically, Oweleke, in a two-count charge was accused of publishing posts on his online platform known as “Oweleke TV”, urging the Nigerian military to remove the President from office in a manner similar to takeovers in some West African countries, an act the agency said bordered on incitement and the use of a computer system to disseminate content considered prejudicial to national security and constitutional governance.
Oweleke’s broadcasts, the agency stressed, were capable of inciting public disorder and promoting disaffection against the government, which will undermine the country’s democracy.
Legal argument had ensued immediately after Oweleke, pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his lawyer kicking vehemently against the prayer of the agency that the court should order his remand pending the commencement of trial, on the ground that a bail application had already been filed and served on the prosecution.
But Aluko, who was persuaded to grant the prayer, went with the DSS, while adjourning the matter to June 16 for the hearing of the bail application, stating that Oweleke, would remain in the facility of the agency pending the outcome.
By June 29 all medical doctors in public hospitals in Nigeria will drop their stethoscopes and other instruments of healthcare, unless the Federal Government settles all unpaid allowances, salary arrears, delayed training funds, and worsening welfare concerns of its members across the country’s health sector.
This was the notice served to the government on Monday, through The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the umbrella under which the doctors operate, after rising from Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) held in Kano.
In the 21-day ultimatum to the government, the doctors warned that it would not be able to guarantee industrial harmony if the issues remain unresolved within the 21-day period.
In the resolution conveying their position, signed by Mohammad Suleiman, President, Shuaibu Ibrahim, Secretary-General, and Abdulmajid Yahya Ibrahim, Publicity and Social Secretary, on Friday, the body regretted that government had failed to fulfil several commitments to doctors despite repeated assurances and engagements.
“The association hereby declares an industrial dispute with the federal government of Nigeria on the outlined matters above and cannot guarantee industrial harmony after the 21-day window period given to address all the demands,” the communique reads.
The association said it is giving the federal government the 21-day window to commence concrete actions towards the development and implementation of a national healthcare workers assault prevention and response protocol
and the initiation of the necessary legislative process to address the menace.
NARD also demanded the release and payment of the 2026 medical residency training fund (MRTF) to all eligible resident doctors nationwide within the next 21 days.
The association questioned the unpaid salary and promotion arrears in several federal and state health institutions, as well as discrepancies in professional allowances reflected in members’ May 2026 salaries.
It highlighted the welfare issues affecting house officers, including salary delays, unpaid arrears, and difficulties with internship placement and onboarding processes that remain unresolved.
It also accused Motunrayo Omidiran, executive chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), of delaying the issuance of letters of compliance to federal health institutions, noting that the delay has hampered recruitment efforts, manpower shortages, and brain drain in the sector.
NARD expressed worries about the increasing assaults, harassment, intimidation, and violent attacks against doctors while on duty, demanding the arrests, investigation, and prosecution of perpetrators.
It called for the establishment of a national healthcare workers’ assault prevention and response protocol within 21 days by the federal government and security agencies.
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