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Doguwa, Two Other Withdraw From Speakership Race For Abbas
Three aspirants for the position of Speaker in the upcoming 10th House of Representatives – Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Abdulraheem Olawuyi, and Abubakar Makki Yelleman – have withdrawn from the race.
They announced their decision during the Joint Task-10th Assembly meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday evening.
The meeting was graced by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila and Senator Godswill Akpabio, the consensus candidate for the 10th Senate President.
Speaking on behalf of the other two candidates, Doguwa expressed their collective choice to step aside in favor of Tajuddeen Abbas, the preferred candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). This decision reflects their respect for the party and their alignment with the APC’s chosen nominee for the Speakership position.
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am here to put it on the records that, not just from today, that, right from day one, when the NWC, the National Working Committee of my party put it on the table that, they have come up with a zoning arrangement and after zoning, with all sense of morality, micro-zoned it to the North West and Micro-micro zoned it to my brother, Right Honourable Tajuddeen Abbas representing Zaria federal constituency from North Western Nigeria, as from that date and day, I therefore called my bid to contest for the Speakership of the 10th House of Representatives off.
“I had to to that because I am a man of establishment, I had to do that because I am also a beneficiary of same kind of arrangement then, and today, I have benefited from party arrangements, I have personally benefited from this kind of zoning arrangement, that was what gave me the position of the Chief Whip of the 8th House of Representatives even when there were issues, the zoning held away. Today, I am the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives courtesy of the National Working Committee of my party.
“My great brothers and sisters, courtesy demands that, it is only fair. I also stand by the position of the National Working Committee and the leaders of my great party. It’s not like the table is turning against me, no. The fact is that, time has come for me to also pay back and I think paying back in these circumstances means a great responsibility that I must have to honour and oblige.
“I rise before you today this good evening Mr Speaker, my boss, Right Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila and around me, is Right Honourable Abdulraheem Olawuyi and my other friend here, Honourable Makki Yelleman. We are here individually and collectively stepping into the shoes of this great campaign.
“We all wanted to be Speakers not because we knew that, you can have several Speakers. At every there only can be one Speaker. And in the light of this disposition, I want to say, on behalf of my great men here around me, that we have individually and collectively decided to come and surrender our bids to become Speaker this time around to the great party, the APC and we also defer, on record to our great gentleman that was picked by the party to ran for the Speakership officially on behalf of our great party, Right Honourable Tajuddeen Abbas.
“We are also of the opinion that, the selection process of Right Honourable Tajuddeen Abbas was not in anyway biased. We are also quite aware that, the person of Tajuddeen Abbas and of course his running mate, the Deputy Speakership candidate, they are qualified to hold their respective offices”.
Earlier, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila said even in advanced democracies, one can disagree with his party, but at the end of the day, the party which is an organised entity survives.
He reminded that members of the party and other parties have treaded the same path in the past and had seen the effects, so the decision was to avoid the mistakes of the past.
The APC made a painful decision to choose a consensus candidate. Considerations were taken to make the best choice for the party and the country. Doguwa and six other aspirants rejected the chosen candidate.
This led to the formation of the G7, who aimed to select their own candidate for the Speaker position.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that he is healthy, sound and ready to resume work after returning to Nigeria from his four-week working vacation in Europe.
Tinubu made the remarks on Tuesday shortly after arriving in Lagos from Paris, France, where he spent the final part of his vacation.
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Speaking briefly after his arrival, the President said he enjoyed the break before assuring Nigerians of his readiness to return to official duties.
“I enjoyed myself,” Tinubu said.
On his readiness to resume work, he added: “Ready to kick, ready to work. There’s nothing wrong.”
The President also addressed rumours surrounding his wellbeing, attributing such speculation to the political environment.
“Well, rumour will always be emanating from politics, but the fact remains I’m here—healthy, sound, and ready to go,” he said.
Tinubu arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos at about 6:22 p.m. on Tuesday, marking the end of his European working vacation.
His return comes ahead of Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary on October 1, with the President expected to participate in activities marking the occasion in Lagos.
The Presidency had earlier said Tinubu would remain in Lagos for several days for Independence Day engagements and strategic meetings before returning to Abuja.
Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 and spent time in London and Paris during the trip, while continuing official engagements.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku, has highlighted the completion of the 1.2-kilometre Kaa-Ataba Bridge in Rivers State as evidence of the Commission’s growing capacity to deliver major infrastructure projects across the Niger Delta.
Ogbuku spoke at the 2026 NDDC Partners for Sustainable Development Conference in Port Harcourt, where he attributed the Commission’s progress to the support and cooperation of its development partners and other stakeholders.
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The Kaa-Ataba Bridge links Khana and Andoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State and is expected to improve connectivity between the communities when opened to vehicular traffic.
According to Ogbuku, the project is among developments that many previously considered beyond the capacity of the NDDC.
“These are things that, in the past, people never believed the NDDC could do. Today, we are doing them seamlessly because of the support we are getting,” he said.
The NDDC boss said the progress recorded by the Commission demonstrated the impact of collaboration between the agency and its development partners.
He thanked stakeholders, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly and the Minister of Regional Development for their support and encouragement towards the delivery of projects across the Niger Delta.
Ogbuku said the achievements also underscored the importance of collective responsibility, in line with the theme of the 2026 conference, “Synergy for Transformation.”
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga has highlighted the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPC Ltd) latest financial and operational performance, saying the figures offer “some lessons for Atiku” amid the debate over fuel subsidy.
Onanuga disclosed this in a post on X on Tuesday while reviewing NNPC’s key financial performance for 2025 following the release of the company’s audited results.
According to him, NNPC’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 22 per cent to ₦18 trillion, while earnings per share increased by 32 per cent to ₦35.9.
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He said the company’s operating cash flow also grew by 16 per cent to ₦12.8 trillion, while return on equity improved by 200 basis points to 16 per cent.
Onanuga further noted that NNPC declared a ₦5.8 trillion dividend, representing a 35 per cent increase.
Highlighting the company’s operational performance, he said crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.77 million barrels per day, its highest level in five years.
Natural gas output, he added, averaged 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day, representing a three-year high.
Oil and condensate production totalled 565.8 million barrels, up five per cent, while NNPC’s equity share increased by 11 per cent to 223.7 million barrels.
Gas production also reached 2,606.2 billion standard cubic feet, up nine per cent, while the company’s equity share rose by 11 per cent to 1,154.9 billion standard cubic feet.
Onanuga then linked the performance to the subsidy debate, arguing against a return to petrol subsidy.
“Atiku’s subsidy programme will certainly kill this company, which could be our own Aramco. Our country has no business taking 100 steps back. Forward ever!” he said.
NNPC Records ₦7.2tn Profit
NNPC Ltd had earlier announced a 33 per cent increase in profit after tax for the financial year ended December 31, 2025.
The company’s profit after tax rose from ₦5.4 trillion in 2024 to ₦7.2 trillion in 2025, while revenue stood at ₦34.5 trillion.
NNPC also reported a 22 per cent increase in EBITDA to ₦18 trillion, a 16 per cent rise in operating cash flow to ₦12.8 trillion and a 32 per cent increase in earnings per share to ₦35.9.
The company declared a ₦5.8 trillion dividend, representing a 35 per cent increase.
On production, NNPC said crude oil and condensate output averaged 1.77 million barrels per day, its highest level in five years, while natural gas production averaged 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day.
The company said the results reflected stronger earnings capacity and operational momentum as it continues to pursue increased production and investment across the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
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