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Stop the Praise-Singing, Atiku’s Aide Tells Keyamo
Paul Ibe, the spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has labeled the remarks made by Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo against Atiku as an act of sycophancy.
“Where was Keyamo when Atiku Abubakar was in the frontline battling the military and eventually, with other compatriots, able to get them out? Where was he? He is just playing to the gallery. Sycophancy is the end game,” Ibe said this on a program monitored by the column.ng on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Thursday.
Ibe faulted the claim of impersonation levelled against Atiku by Keyamo over the use of the Nigerian Coat of Arms logo in his correspondences.
“Nobody is impersonating anybody. Atiku Abubakar is a former vice president. That is known. I don’t want to dignify him (Keyamo). He can go to court if he wants to.”
On Wednesday, information filtered in that Atiku dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the African Democratic Alliance (ADC), an opposition coalition to unseat Keyamo’s principal, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the 2027 general elections.
Atiku, 78, the 2023 PDP presidential candidate, came second in the election won by Tinubu.
Keyamo immediately faulted Atiku’s defection from the PDP to the ADC, but Ibe said Atiku is not too old to run.
“Atiku Abubakar too old? Says who? The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, is 79, and we are modelling our democracy after that of the United States. So, what are we talking about? Is Atiku Abubakar healthy? Is he strong? Does he have any infirmity?” Ibe asked.
On whether the ADC would be the last party of the former vice president, Ibe said, “Mr Atiku Abubakar will determine that. I believe that the coalition offers a great prospect to reclaim and to rebuild Nigeria.”
‘Stop Majoring On Minor’
Ibe cautioned Keyamo not to major on minors, adding that the senior lawyer should face his duty as aviation minister.
“It is unfortunate that Minister Keyamo is majoring on minors, and this gives an indication of how he runs the Ministry of Aviation.
“I believe he has a whole lot on his plate to deal with – issues of infrastructure in our airports, runways, broken toilets in some of the toilets – and he still has time to talk about the resignation of someone in the PDP,” he stated.
He said the Tinubu administration tried to railroad all political parties into one party, and that is akin to a civilian dictatorship.
“In the last two years, we have seen a deterioration of our democratic process. Instruments of state, including and not limited even the anti-corruption agencies, are used to coerce politicians into the APC. This is not what democracy is about; democracy is about people making choices,” he said.
‘Atiku’s Presidential Ambition Valid’
Ibe further stated that Atiku’s presidential ambition remained valid, though he has been trying to get the much-coveted spot in the last three decades.
He said, “There is nothing wrong with ambitions. All of us, as human beings, we all have ambitions. What is wrong is a faulty ambition and Atiku Abubakar does not have a faulty ambition; he has a genuine ambition to improve the lot of Nigerians.
“One thing is that he is not going to resign from politics; he has said that clearly.
“For as long as God engraces him with good health, with strength, with vitality, with the acumen and requisite skill, he will continue to be there to provide whatever he can provide in moving this country forward.”
He said Atiku has a deposit of skills and experience to make a good president.
“Yes, he aspires to be the president because all of the skills, all of the experiences he has acquired all over the years, he believes, and rightfully so, that he can make a difference.
“So, let’s not talk about how long he has run; it is about how well, if given the opportunity.
“Is he the first person who would change parties? No. It is not about Atiku Abubakar but about the situation we have found ourselves,” he said.
As the world celebrate this year’s World Environment Day today,the Ogun State Waste Management Authority OGWAMA as urged residents of the States to keep their environment clean and stop indiscriminate dumping of waste in public places and imbibe proper waste disposal.
Special Adviser to the Governor and Managing Director of the Ogun State Management Authority OGWAMA, Honorable Farouk Akintunde stated this in a statement to mark the 2026 World Environment Day.
He said indiscriminate dumping of waste in public and unauthorized places breeds untidy, unhealthy environment which are inimical to public safety and retard economic growth of the society.
Akintunde also advised them to imbibe proper waste disposal by patronizing Waste PSP assigned to their immediate community for proper waste disposal for just a token instead of them to use the cover of the night to dump them in discriminately on the median,roadsides and public places which he says deface the aesthetic beauty of the State.
“Ogun state residents are known as clean and fun-loving people.We should not allow few of us to dent our pride through their untoward attitudes and behaviors,so when we see them dumping indiscriminately in our environment we should say something”
“We will on our part continue to do our best in terms of proper waste management through sensitization and advocacy as we urge all residents to containerize their waste for easy collection by government accredited PSP”
”For industries domiciled in the state, let me remind them of the need to allow government accredited PSP assigned to them to perform their statutory duties instead of patronizing illegal PSP which will attract sanction when they are caught by our enforcement team as OGWAMA will not allow them to turn the state to dumpsites for illegal industrial waste some of which are not environmentally friendly” Akintunde added.
He did not forget to remind all residents of the State that Ogun State Waste Management Authority will step-up it enforcement activities in all nooks and crannies of the state to maintain a clean,safe and healthy environment .
June 5th, Transfermarkt updated. The new market values of Barcelona players. Three players increased and nine decreased, with Raphinha dropping by 10 million to 70 million euros.
Increase (Euros)
Joan-Garcia increased by 5 million to 45 million
Eric-Garcia increased by 5 million to 40 million
Gerard-Martin increased by 10 million to 35 million
Decrease (Euros)
Raphinha decreased by 10 million to 70 million
Kounde decreased by 5 million to 60 million
Balde decreased by 5 million to 50 million
De Jong decreased by 10 million to 35 million
Casado decreased by 2 million to 18 million
Christensen decreased by 1 million to 8 million
Cancelo decreased by 1 million to 8 million
Lewandowski decreased by 1 million to 7 million
Szczesny decreased by 100,000 to 800,000
Unchanged (Euros)
Yamal 200 million
Pedri 150 million
Fermin 100 million
Cubarsi 80 million
Olmo 60 million
Ferran Torres 50 million
Rashford 40 million
Gavi 30 million
Bernal 30 million
Araujo 20 million
Bardghji 15 million
Singer Niniola Apata has opened up about her late husband, Michael Ndika, and the central role he played in her music career and personal life.
Speaking in a video at a gathering held in his honour, Niniola recounted how their relationship shaped her growth as an artist and as a person.
Ndika, CEO of African music platform NaijaReview, died on May 19, 2026 at 44.
She said he was her strongest supporter from day one even when she considered stepping away from music, he pushed her to continue.
According to her, Ndika believed in her talent and vowed to make her a star.
Niniola described their bond as inseparable, stressing how he was part of her daily routine and her main source of emotional support. Since his death, she said, her life has changed completely.
She thanked his family for embracing her and admitted that coping with the loss has been hard.
Reflecting on their marriage, she called it a love story.
She said Ndika gave her everything and lived for her and while she was the face and voice of her brand, he was the engine behind it.
She said: “My story with Michael is a love story. Michael did everything for me. Everything was for me, he was breathing for me. He loved me, I loved him so much. And I learned so much from Michael. But Michael met me raw, and he said, I’ll make you a superstar.’ And he did. I was just the face and the voice, but Michael was the engine.
“Even when I decided to, you know, give music a break, he didn’t let it. The first person I saw in the morning was Michael. And the last person who closed my eyes at night was Michael. So now what do I do? Tell me, what do I do? Michael was the best thing, the best person that ever happened to me.”
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