Former Governor and senator representing Ogun East, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, said the true measure of Nigeria’s economic progress should be the lived experiences of citizens rather than growth in Gross Domestic Product, GDP, alone, saying that Nigeria cannot have a strong economy without security.

Daniel mentioned this yesterday at the 7th Annual Lecture of Freedom Online in Lagos, as he argued that economic growth and security are inseparable.

His comments came days after the NBS reported that Nigeria’s GDP grew by 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, up from 4.23 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

According to the senator, although the latest GDP figures and improvements in agriculture and services are encouraging, they did not fully reflect the economic realities confronting Nigerians.

“Nigeria cannot have a strong economy without security, and it cannot have lasting security without a strong economy, which effectively means that both of them are inseparable,” he said.

Daniel said the real test of economic progress is whether Nigerians could secure decent jobs, access their farms safely, operate businesses profitably and attract investment.

He asked: “In our country today, can a young person find decent work? Can a farmer safely reach the farm? Can a manufacturer produce competitively?

“Can a small business survive the cost of power and transport? Can investors commit their resources with confidence?”

The former Ogun State governor described security as an essential component of economic infrastructure, rather than an issue exclusively for the military, police and other security agencies.

He said insecurity has direct economic consequences, noting that farmers who could not safely access their land will be unable to produce enough food, while insecurity along major roads will increase the cost of transporting goods.

Daniel further argued that excessive expenditure on security measures could undermine business competitiveness, while insecurity in communities could discourage both domestic and foreign investment.

He called for an approach that treats security and economic development as mutually reinforcing priorities.

Former Minister of Power and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Adebayo Adelabu, has said he will not pursue an internal party appeal or legal action over the party’s 2027 nomination process, despite what he described as serious concerns over transparency and fairness.

Adelabu made this known in a statement issued after a meeting with party leaders, representatives of loyalists and supporters from the 33 local government areas and 351 wards of Oyo State on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.

He said the meeting reviewed developments surrounding the conclusion of the APC nomination exercises for the 2027 general elections and the concerns raised by aspirants and party members.

According to him, the actual results of the primaries, including votes allegedly scored by aspirants at ward and local government levels, were not formally and transparently declared before names were entered on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) electronic portal as the party’s candidates.

He said the development affected nominations for the governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly.

Adelabu further claimed that documentary materials, authenticated collation records and video evidence were available which, in his view, raised questions about aspects of the primary elections and their outcomes.

Despite the concerns, the former Central Bank of Nigeria deputy governor said he had decided not to pursue an appeal within the party or institute legal proceedings “at this time.”

He stressed that the decision should not be interpreted as surrender or an admission that the process was fair.

“This decision is not because of a lack of evidence, confidence or conviction,” Adelabu said, adding that he chose not to escalate the matter in the interest of peace, party stability and the future of the APC in Oyo State.

The former minister said the APC National Chairman had, during his recent visit to Oyo State, acknowledged errors, unfairness and injustice associated with aspects of the primary election process.

Adelabu, however, maintained that an acknowledgement or apology should not replace corrective action where grievances could still be addressed.

He urged the national leadership of the party to initiate a comprehensive reconciliation process covering all categories of nominations and involving affected stakeholders.

According to him, reconciliation should go beyond persuading aggrieved members to accept the outcome, stressing that the issues that generated the grievances must first be addressed.

He also warned that the grievances should not be viewed solely as the concerns of individual aspirants, noting that thousands of party members who participated in the primaries may feel that their votes, sacrifices and preferences were disregarded.

“The National Leadership of our party must therefore appreciate that the responsibility for reconciliation cannot simply be transferred to aspirants,” he said.

Adelabu argued that electoral victory could not be achieved merely by uploading candidates’ names to an electronic portal, but depended on the trust, enthusiasm and active participation of party members, particularly at the grassroots.

He nevertheless reaffirmed his commitment to the APC, saying he would not leave the party despite the controversy surrounding the nomination process.

“I remain in the APC, and my loyalty to the party and to the administration and leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains unwavering,” he said.

Adelabu also said his ambition to become governor of Oyo State was not a “do-or-die project,” stressing that his aspiration was motivated by a desire to contribute to the development and prosperity of the state.

He urged his supporters and loyalists to remain peaceful, restrained and civil, while warning against any form of anti-party activity.

“I do not support, encourage or condone any form of anti-party activity by any of my supporters, loyalists, associates or political structures,” he said.

Adelabu concluded by saying that while he was closing the particular contest, he was not conceding what he described as injustice in the nomination process.

“We may be closing this particular contest, but we are not conceding the injustice. We are choosing the path of peace without surrendering the principles of fairness, transparency and democratic justice,” he said.

Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, has urged President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action against what he described as “kakistocrats” dominating the Presidency, warning that their continued presence could undermine his administration.

Ndume spoke while reacting to the composition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, saying the structure did not address his concerns about the competence of some officials working around the President.

“My concern remains that the President has so many kakistocrats dominating the presidency. Unless he does something about it, they will continue to mess him up,” the senator said.

Ndume cited recent controversies involving a government agency and the suspension of a permanent secretary in the Presidency as evidence of what he described as weaknesses within the administration.

“We had a fake agency operating with an office, and after the ICPC investigated, they discovered even more. A permanent secretary in the presidency had to be suspended,” he said.

The senator, however, credited Tinubu for allowing the investigation to proceed but argued that the President needed to do more to prevent such incidents.

“That is where I give the President credit, but I insist that if he had capable hands, all this mess and embarrassment wouldn’t be happening. He is still not taking the appropriate action on it,” Ndume said.

On the APC campaign council, the lawmaker questioned the decision to include Tinubu as chairman, arguing that the party should take the lead in campaigning for its presidential candidate.

“People put up the presidential campaign committee. If I had the ear of Mr President, there was no need for a presidential campaign committee,” he said.

Ndume argued that the APC national leadership should instead be responsible for selling the achievements of the administration to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 election.

“The President is the product of the party. The owner of a product should be the one selling the product, not the product selling itself,” he said.

He added: “He shouldn’t be on it; it should be the National Chairman of the party.”

The senator also suggested that Tinubu might not have been fully involved in the process that produced the campaign council, pointing to the controversy that followed its announcement.

“From what happened, you can see that even the President was not fully aware. Why would there be complaints?” Ndume asked.

He said his concerns were not motivated by personal or partisan interests, but by the need to strengthen Nigeria’s political system.

“I know the man. But why am I worried? It’s not about my party; it’s about politics in Nigeria,” he said.

Ndume also defended some of the difficult economic decisions taken by the Tinubu administration, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy, saying the decision itself was necessary but its consequences had created significant hardship.

He said many Nigerians supported the removal of subsidy but were now bearing the impact of higher living costs.

“The President himself acknowledged that there is hardship as a result of the policies, but promised Nigerians that there will be light at the end of the tunnel,” Ndume said.

According to him, the prolonged hardship had become a major challenge for the APC ahead of the 2027 elections, with Nigerians becoming increasingly anxious about when the expected economic relief would materialise.

He also blamed some presidential aides for worsening public perception of the administration, accusing them of responding to criticism with personal attacks rather than addressing the issues raised.

“We are saying that the staff or people he has around him are the major problem. Instead of talking about ideas and events, they have small minds and talk about people,” Ndume said.

He urged presidential spokespersons to engage critics based on the substance of their arguments instead of resorting to insults.

“When anybody makes a statement, the President’s spokespersons rush on TV to insult the person and call them names. That is not it,” he said.

“You take the points that person made about the system one after the other.”