Author: Drum Africa Correspondent

Uganda’s ruling party on said Tuesday that the country’s long-running president Yoweri Museveni will seek re-election in polls due early next year. The 80-year-old had been widely expected to try and extend his almost four-decade rule over the East African country. The opposition has faced a mounting crackdown ahead of the general election in January, with leading activists and politicians intimidated, abducted and detained. Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) party said in a statement on its website that the leader “seeks to retain the positions of the NRM chairman and party presidential flag bearer in the 2026 elections”. Tanga Odoi,…

The Vice President of Brazil, Geraldo Alckmin, and his wife, Maria Alckmin, on Tuesday, arrived in Nigeria for the commencement of the second session of the Nigeria-Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism. On arrival at the Presidential Wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, the delegation was received by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia and Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole. Other government officials that received the delegation are the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, Minister of Agriculture, and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari; among others. The high-profile visit represents a watershed in…

Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas (rtd), has come under serious allegations of financial misconduct, with claims that he deducted ₦200 million from Ahoada East Local Government’s monthly allocations. Additionally, new details have surfaced regarding the assault and reported resignation of Ahoada East Local Government Council’s Sole Administrator, Goodluck Ihenacho. Also, fresh facts have emerged about the assault and purported resignation of the Sole Administrator of Ahoada East Local Government Council, Goodluck Ihenacho. According to a voice note from the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Ahoada-East LGA, Mr. Hector Ekeakita, who was invited by the police alongside the…

Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals development, says Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa, is suffering from memory loss. On Saturday, Lamido claimed that President Bola Tinubu supported the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. Speaking during an Arise Television interview on Sunday, Alake described Lamido’s narrative as “false, revisionist and historically dishonest”. The minister insisted that Tinubu was a central figure in the fight to actualise MKO Abiola’s mandate. “I feel very appalled at his own submissions, which I would ascribe largely to selective amnesia at best, or at the very worst, an impairment of the medulla…

The Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution will on July 4 and 5 hold a two-day zonal public hearing in the country’s six geo-political zones. The hearing is to gather citizens’ inputs on the proposed amendments. The committee, chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, said the public hearing will be held simultaneously in Lagos (Southwest), Enugu (Southeast), Ikot Ekpene (Southsouth), Jos (Northcentral), Maiduguri (Northeast) and Kano (Northwest). The hearing will examine critical national issues, including local government autonomy, electoral and judicial reforms, state creation, state police and inclusive governance. The Special Adviser to…

The endorsement of the senator representing Delta North Senatorial District in the Senate, Ned Nwoko, for a second term has sparked sharp division within the All Progressives Congress in the district. Party leaders in Aniocha North, Nwoko’s home base, reaffirmed their support, while the senatorial leadership moved to disown the endorsement. On June 14, 2025, Nwoko was endorsed by a forum of APC local government and ward chairmen from the nine local councils of Delta North during a meeting held at his country home. The gathering, attended by key figures, including the Delta North APC Chairman, Chief Adizue Eluaka, was…

Mr Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, says Air Peace will begin direct flights to London Heathrow Airport from Abuja on Oct. 26. Keyamo made this known in Abuja on Sunday in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Tunde Moshood. According to him, the landmark achievement follows sustained diplomatic efforts by the Federal Government to enforce reciprocity in international air travel agreements. The minister said that the breakthrough was the result of a strongly worded letter from the ministry dated Aug. 1, 2024, to the UK Secretary of State for Transport,…

Controversy has trailed the reported resignation of Goodluck Ihemnacho, the Administrator of the Ahoada East Local Government Area in Rivers State, following the circulation of a disturbing video that raised questions about his resignation. In the resignation letter, addressed to the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), Ihemnacho was quoted as expressing gratitude for the opportunity to serve. “I humbly write to your noble office to convey to you my resignation as the Administrator, Ahoada East LGA… My sincere gratitude goes to the government of Rivers State and the good people of Ahoada East for finding me worthy to…

The Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has nominated four more commissioners to serve in the state executive council. This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday in Akure by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ebenezer Adeniyan. According to the statement, the nomination is in addition to the 12 nominees appointed last week by the governor and currently being screened for confirmation by the House of Assembly. The nominees are Pastor Bola Ademuwagun, Mr Leye Akinola, Dr. Banji Ajaka and Mr Adesoji Afolabi. “In exercise of the power conferred on me by Section 192…

The Federal Road Safety Corps has frowned at transporting passengers with goods and animals, a common practice among commercial articulated truck drivers. The Sector Commander of the corps in Oyo State, Mrs Rosemary Alo, issued the warning during Saturday’s sensitisation programme in Ogbomoso. Drum Africa reports that the programme, organised by the Ogbomoso Unit Command, targeted articulated truck drivers, cattle traders, market leaders and other stakeholders. Alo, represented by the Ogbomoso Unit Commander, Assistant Corps Commander Solomon Aderinmola, noted that the enlightenment programme aligned with the FRSC’s 2025 Strategic Goal-One. Reiterating the corps’ commitment to reducing Road Traffic Crashes (RTC),…