The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Sokoto State has downplayed the ongoing efforts to create a political coalition in Northern Nigeria, labelling it as a group of “paperweight politicians” who lack electoral significance.

In an interview (with The Punch) at the Sokoto Government House on Saturday, Alhaji Isa Sadiq-Achida, the APC State Chairman, asserted that “even if any so-called coalition’s emerges in Northern Nigeria, Sokoto alone will deliver enough votes to bridge any gaps for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the North.”

He questioned the influence of former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, alleging that he had become disconnected from the people of his state, especially those in Southern Kaduna.

“I doubt that Malam Nasir El-Rufai will have any meaningful political relevance in Kaduna, especially considering how deeply he hurt the people of Southern Kaduna during his tenure. He didn’t even allow them to vote freely,” he stated.

Commenting on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Sadiq-Achida claimed that the PDP leader was facing internal turmoil and diminishing support in Adamawa.

“Everyone knows that Senator Aishatu Binani won that election, but something else happened. Atiku is even still struggling with his own governor, and his traditional title was stripped recently. That tells you everything you need to know.”

He said those championing the Northern coalition lacked grassroots followership, stressing that, “Those forming these coalitions are not real politicians. They’re politicians on paper. Many of them can not even win their polling units.”

Referring to former Senator Abubakar Gada, the Sokoto APC Chairman accused him of acting as a saboteur within the party before defecting to the Social Democratic Party, where he lost badly in the 2023 governorship election.

“Take Senator Abu Gada, for instance. He was sponsored to cause division in the APC. He went to court and lost. He later joined the SDP and contested for governorship. Out of 3,900 polling units in Sokoto, he got only 230 votes. He didn’t win even a single polling unit.”

He claimed that Gada lacked support in his hometown of Gadawa, stating that many locals barely knew him.

“He spent most of his life working at the NNPC. It was during Governor Wamakko’s administration that he was brought into politics and handed a senatorial ticket. After he won, he turned against Wamakko. Once the ticket was taken from him, he couldn’t win anything again, not even his polling unit.”

Sadiq-Achida reaffirmed the strength of the ruling party in Sokoto and expressed certainty that the state would deliver overwhelming support for President Tinubu and the APC in upcoming elections.

The Federal Government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are partnering to strengthen Nigeria’s response to criminal and terrorist finance related to minerals.

Consulting the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake recently, officials of the UN agency said the project, funded by the Canadian government will strengthen the capacity of criminal justice actors in the detection, investigation and prosecution of illicit financial flows associated with conflict financing, including the financing of armed groups and money laundering in the solid minerals sector.

UNODC’s Project Co-ordinator on counter-terrorism, Mr. Tom Parker, who led a team including project officers Inneke Geysens-Bourgions and Nicole Andersen, praised the Minister for the establishment of the Mining Marshals and other measures to combat illegal mining, adding that the agency will work with the ministry to implement the project.

Responding, Alake expressed delight at the significant support that the project would give to the efforts of the federal government to combat illegal mining and other crimes funded by proceeds of illicit mining of natural resources.

He explained that the Mining Marshals were created from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to avoid the constitutional challenges of setting up a new security outfit.

“ In the illegal mining area, we set up the Mining Marshals. When I got in here, I discovered we needed a new security architecture specifically for the mining sector. I sought the permission of Mr. President to set up Mining Marshals, and they’ve been doing a good job arresting and prosecuting illegal miners. The essence is to send a strong message that it can’t be business as usual. And it is yielding salutary effects. A lot of operators are trying to regularise their operations and are obeying the mining laws, “he said.

The minister said the president has approved a new satellite monitoring system for mines to further curb malpractices and enable the security operatives to identify the location of the incident and mobilise the necessary forces to the site.

Segun Tomori, FSCA

Special Assistant on Media to the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development.

30th June, 2025.

The caucus meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) turned chaotic on Monday after security operatives forcefully removed some members from the national executive committee (NEC) hall.

The meeting was scheduled to take place at the NEC hall of the party’s headquarters in Abuja, with members already arriving at the venue.

Two individuals were ejected by security personnel following claims by some protocol officers that they had no authorization to be present at the meeting.

During the confrontation, a glass door was broken while the members were being dragged out.

“Are you NWC member?” shouted Chinwe Nnorom, national director of publicity, before the individuals were taken out of the venue.

Earlier in the day, security personnel had taken control of the PDP headquarters and stopped members of the board of trustees (BoT) from accessing the NEC hall for their scheduled meeting.

As a result, the BoT moved their meeting to the Yar’Adua Centre located in the central business district of Abuja.

In recent weeks, the PDP has been embroiled in increasing drama and new developments amid its internal crisis.

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More to come…