NEWS
Sunday Dare Highlights Tinubu’s Key Achievements, Fires Back at Steve Osuji
Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Public Communications/Spokesperson, Dr Sunday Dare, has highlighted what he described as key achievements of the Tinubu administration while firing back at columnist Steve Osuji over his assessment of the 2027 presidential landscape.
Dare made the remarks in a lengthy statement disclosed via his X account on Monday, titled “Steve Osuji’s 2027 Prophetic Fantasy.”
The presidential aide accused Osuji of confusing “cynicism for sophistication, bitter partisanship for objective analysis, and venom for editorial depth.”
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Dare said Osuji’s intervention on the 2027 presidential race attempted to portray President Tinubu as an imperiled incumbent while elevating former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi as an “infallible, messianic” opposition figure.
According to him, Osuji’s argument amounted to “wishful thinking” and failed to account for the structural challenges facing Nigeria.
Dare Defends Tinubu’s Economic Reforms
Dare defended some of the administration’s most controversial economic decisions, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market.
He argued that successive governments had failed to confront what he described as the “criminal, unsustainable fuel subsidy regime” and distorted multiple foreign exchange markets.
According to Dare, previous administrations repeatedly postponed the difficult decisions, opting instead for what he called “popular, debt-financed ruin.”
He said Tinubu “took the bull by the horns on day one,” arguing that the reforms stopped the diversion of trillions of naira through the subsidy regime and dismantled what he described as a corrupt parallel-market cartel.
Dare added that revenue flows to the federal, state and local governments had expanded as a result, giving sub-national governments greater financial capacity to execute development projects.
$54.08bn Reserves, 4.43% GDP Growth
The presidential aide also cited what he described as measurable gains in the Nigerian economy.
Dare said Nigeria’s real GDP expanded by 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, accelerating from previous quarters.
He also cited the assessments of international rating agencies, including Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings, saying their credit upgrades reflected growing confidence in Nigeria’s structural reforms.
According to Dare, Nigeria’s external reserves had risen above $54.08 billion, which he described as the highest level in nearly 18 years.
He further claimed that the debt service-to-revenue ratio had experienced a “dramatic downward rebalancing” away from the unsustainable levels of previous years.
Dare Highlights Tinubu’s Infrastructure Drive
Dare listed infrastructure development as another major area of progress under Tinubu.
He cited the ongoing construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway, as well as rail modernisation and regional power interventions.
According to him, the administration had prioritised high-impact infrastructure through aggressive Public-Private Partnerships and the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund.
He said the projects were laying “the physical tracks for long-term industrialization.”
NELFUND, MSMEs and Minimum Wage
Dare also highlighted the administration’s social interventions and human-capital programmes.
He cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying it had enabled hundreds of thousands of indigent students to access higher education.
He also listed Credicorp, MSME intervention funds and the implementation of the new national minimum wage among measures introduced to cushion Nigerians from the effects of the economic adjustments.
Security and EFCC
On security, Dare acknowledged that Nigeria’s security challenges had accumulated over decades and could not disappear overnight.
However, he said the armed forces had continued with “aggressive, coordinated offensives” against insurgency, banditry and kidnapping networks.
He maintained that the operations had steadily restored civil authority to liberated communities.
Dare also cited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying the agency had been empowered to tackle illicit financial flows and sanitise the country’s financial architecture.
He added that Nigeria’s standing in international financial governance had continued to benefit from the administration’s policies.
A road accident, involving a tanker truck conveying petroleum products opposite the Odukpani Local Government Secretariat, Cross River State, ignited a fire, leading to the destruction of several shops and affecting vehicles.
These transpired on Sunday, when the tanker accidentally overturned which led to the fire that spread to nearby shops and buildings.
Fortunately, the tanker driver was rescued and taken to a hospital for medical attention.
Confirming the incident, the Cross River State Police Command said that officers from the Odukpani Division were deployed to the scene to secure the area and prevent further harm.
The Command said the Fire Service had also been alerted and was expected to deploy personnel to contain and extinguish the fire.
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As of the time of filing this report, no death has been confirmed.
However, the police said a number of shops and vehicles had been affected by the inferno.
The Command urged residents and motorists to keep away from the immediate area and allow emergency responders unhindered access to the scene.
It also advised members of the public to exercise caution around the area because of the risk posed by the burning petroleum tanker.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata, said further updates would be released as verified information became available.
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of failing to meaningfully engage with organised labour, alleging that the government has remained aloof despite repeated attempts to open dialogue.
Ajaero made the remarks during an appearance on the Mic On Podcast, where he spoke about the relationship between the labour movement and the Federal Government over the past few years.
According to the NLC president, the government has not been engaging with labour and only responds when workers and other groups take steps to force its attention.
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“For the past two, three years, you know, it’s not a government that is engaging. This government doesn’t engage,” Ajaero said.
He described the administration as “aloof”, stressing that meaningful engagement had been lacking between the government and organised labour.
Ajaero recalled that the NLC had, by December 17, 2025, announced plans to take its grievances to the streets after months of attempts to communicate with the President.
He said the labour movement had written to President Tinubu from June through December but received no response.
“Well, by December 17th, 2025, we pulled out that we are going to the streets. After writing a letter from May, sorry June, to December to Mr. President and there was no response,” he said.
According to him, the planned action eventually led to the intervention of some state governors, who facilitated an interface between labour and the government.
He said the intervention became necessary after other channels of communication, including the office of the Minister of Labour, had failed.
“Because the whole channel—whether through the Minister of Labour or any other office—failed, collapsed. So some governors met with us, and since that time we have talked once or twice,” Ajaero said.
However, the NLC president suggested that the situation had not significantly improved, alleging that the issues raised by labour since December had largely been left unresolved.
“And those issues… December last year to now, they’re just doing their business. Everybody is their enemy,” he added.
The Nigeria Police Force has disclosed a series of operational successes recorded across eight states, including the rescue of kidnapped victims, the recovery of firearms and rocket launchers, the repulsion of bandit attacks and the arrest of suspects linked to armed robbery and murder.
The Force made the disclosure on Saturday, October 3, 2026, in its 24-hour operational update covering security operations recorded on October 2 and related reporting periods.
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According to the Police, the operations were recorded in Sokoto, Benue, Katsina, Ogun, Taraba, Cross River and Oyo states.
Sokoto: Police Foil Bandit Attack, Recover Rocket Launchers
In Sokoto State, Police tactical teams, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) engaged suspected bandits who attacked Tsabre Village.
The Police said the attackers were overpowered and fled into the forest with casualties.
A subsequent bush-combing operation led to the recovery of two rocket launchers, two empty AK-47 magazines, a Tecno keypad phone, a torchlight, an army jungle hat, a sweater cap, five pairs of sandals and a rain jacket.
The Police said no casualty was recorded on its side.
Katsina: Bandits Repelled on Funtua-Zaria Road
In Katsina State, a joint team comprising VCRU, 83 Police Mobile Force (PMF) and other tactical operatives engaged suspected heavily armed bandits who reportedly blocked the Funtua-Zaria Road and opened fire on commuters.
The Police said the attackers were repelled and traffic flow was restored along the road.
Four injured commuters were evacuated for medical treatment.
The incident is being investigated by the SCID, Katsina.
Ogun: Police Rescue Nine Kidnapped Travellers
In Ogun State, the Police disclosed the rescue of nine travellers who were kidnapped on September 29, 2026, by armed men along the Benin-Sagamu Expressway.
According to the Force, the victims were released unharmed following sustained pressure mounted by the Police and sister security agencies.
“Their statements were taken and they were reunited with their families,” the Police said.
The case is being investigated by the SCID, Abeokuta.
Katsina: Four Kidnap Victims Rescued
The Police also reported the rescue of four kidnapped victims in Katsina State, as reflected in its consolidated operational returns for the reporting period.
The Force said the matter was being investigated by the SCID, Katsina.
Oyo: Three Arrested Over Alleged Robbery, Murder
In Oyo State, operatives of the VCRU arrested Akinrinola Oluwatobi, 28; Okunola Mathew, 24; and Ibrahim Rabiu, 23, in connection with the alleged armed robbery and murder of Mrs Wahab Rukayat.
The Police said the suspects were arrested following credible intelligence after operatives raided a criminal hideout in the Sabo area of Ibadan.
An iPhone 7 Plus belonging to the deceased was reportedly recovered during the operation.
The Force further stated that the complainant identified the suspects during an identification parade and that they confessed to the crime.
The case is being investigated by the SCID, Ibadan.
The Police said the various operations formed part of its ongoing efforts to combat banditry, kidnapping, cult-related activities, armed robbery and other crimes across the country.
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