By Augustine Akhilomen

….Insists South-East Is Not Marginalise Under APC Govt

A former Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu has dismissed reports suggesting that president Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are forcing governors and other politicians to dump their party and join the ruling party ahead of the 2027 elections.

Kalu made this known on Tuesday while addressing journalists as plenary resumed after the Easter break.

He also noted that party membership remains a matter of personal choice and negotiation.

“President Tinubu has never begged anybody to leave his party or to join our party. If a governor decides to join the APC, that is his business.

“When you come, we negotiate; if it is good, you stay; if not, you go your way. Nobody is forcing anybody,” he explained.

Kalu further dismissed claims that the South East is marginalised under the APC government, arguing that both the late President Muhammadu Buhari and President Tinubu have contributed to national development, including in the South East.

“Every President has something to add. Buhari has contributed his quota, Tinubu is contributing his quota. We are getting what we are supposed to get… maybe even more today. That does not mean Buhari did not do well,” he said.


Assessing Tinubu’s reform agenda, he said macroeconomic indicators show progress, but challenges persist at the grassroots due to insecurity and sabotage.

“The upper end of the reform is working… investors are coming in. But the lower end has problems because of insecurity and sabotage. Reforms take time; they don’t happen in one day,” he added, citing long-term reform paths in China and Singapore.

Kalu expressed confidence in Tinubu’s re-election prospects in 2027, describing the opposition as weak and lacking viable alternatives.

“I don’t think anybody will defeat President Tinubu in a free and fair election. APC is like a moving train. Even in places that were not APC before, people are joining. We are rocking like a hurricane,” he declared

Nigeria’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, has said President Bola Tinubu remains committed to resolving long-standing grievances driving insecurity across the country.

Speaking in New York on Monday while presenting his letter of credence to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, Ibrahim conveyed Tinubu’s message, underscoring Nigeria’s resolve to confront both domestic and global security challenges.

Ibrahim noted that Nigeria would continue to mobilise support to tackle insecurity in the Sahel and West African sub-region.

He added that the country remains committed to advancing peace-building efforts across the continent.

On the economy, Ibrahim highlighted key reforms by the Tinubu administration, including fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification.

The ambassador said tighter monetary policies are also being implemented to curb inflation.

According to him, early indicators show progress, with improvements in debt sustainability and easing inflationary pressures.

Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, PhD (Cantab) CFR, on Monday April 20, 2026 formally presented his Letter of Credence to United Nations.

UN Secretary General António Guterres, officially received and accredited him as the Permanent Representative Extraordinary and… pic.twitter.com/FdZ5zNe9YI

— Temitope Ajayi (@TheTope_Ajayi) April 21, 2026

He said investments in infrastructure and the power sector are also being sustained.

Ibrahim reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to multilateral cooperation, particularly in promoting peace in sensitive regions such as the Strait of Hormuz.

He assured the UN of Nigeria’s readiness to support global peace initiatives and diplomatic engagements.

Speaking after receiving the letter of credence, Guterres welcomed Ibrahim’s appointment. He said the United Nations is excited to work with him in advancing shared global goals.


The UN chief described Ibrahim’s diplomatic role as timely and important. He expressed confidence in strengthening cooperation between Nigeria and the United Nations.

Ibrahim got his letter of credence from the Nigerian foreign ministry on April 1, following his clearance to assume office.

He, alongside others, was nominated in November 2025.

“In two separate letters to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu asked the Senate to consider and confirm expeditiously 15 nominees as career ambassadors and 17 nominees as non-career ambassadors,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said then.

They were subsequently cleared by the lawmakers despite criticisms over some names in the list of ambassadorial nominees.

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, National Legislatures Forum, on Tuesday warned President Bola Tinubu’s administration against taking the party’s humane’s disposition for weakness.


Speaking at the forum’s press conference in Abuja, a former member of the House of Representatives, Chile Igbawua, warned that the ADC is not begging but asking the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to carry out its duties.

According to Igbawua: “Agreed that the ADC has been as humane as the opposition political party can be but I would like to sound a note of warning that this government should not take that for weakness. We are not begging, we are simply asking everybody to do what they are supposed to do. The judiciary and electoral umpire should do their work as they are assigned.


“As it stands, ADC doesn’t have confidence in INEC as it’s presently constituted. It’s surprising that the head of the legislature has become a press secretary to the INEC Chairman that when accusations are done against him, he sit there in the other arm of government to defend him just like he defends other functionaries in the executives.”

Igbawua also accused Senate President Godswill Akpbio of destroying the Nigerian legislature, stressing that the forum is ashamed of the current National Assembly.


He added: “We know that Akpabio has destroyed the legislature and we are ashamed to say so, we were there and we knew what we did when occasion demanded.

“We are ashamed of what we see there today but we believe that those who think that they have a field day should know that they don’t, they will all give account if anybody tries to mess up the democracy; he will account for it personally and corporately.”