Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has fired back at those calling for his expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party.
This is as he declared that no one has the authority or the courage to remove him from the party he has served for years.
Speaking on Monday during a media parley in Abuja, Wike said, “I am still in the PDP. I worked hard for the party.
“I have not seen anybody who will have the guts to tell me, ‘Wike, you are not a member of the party.’ Who is that? What is his contribution to the party that is more than me?”
Wike’s remarks come amid growing tensions within the PDP over his role in the current administration and his perceived political positioning.
But the former governor of Rivers State made it clear that his loyalty to the PDP remains, and he won’t be pushed out easily.
Saudi authorities have prevented more than 269,000 individuals without official permits from entering Mecca ahead of this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, officials announced on Sunday as reported by AlArabiya and AP.
The move came as part of a broader effort to control overcrowding and ensure safety during the annual Islamic ritual.
The Interior Ministry stated that the measure targets both foreign nationals and Saudi residents attempting to perform Hajj without authorisation.
Fines of up to $5,000 and possible deportation have been imposed on violators.
In addition, authorities have penalised over 23,000 residents for breaking Hajj regulations and revoked the licences of 400 Hajj service providers.
At a press conference in Mecca, officials said they had stopped 269,678 people without permits from entering the city.
According to the rules, only those with permits are allowed to perform the pilgrimage, even if they live in the city year-round.
Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Omari told the media, “The pilgrim is in our sight, and anyone who disobeys is in our hands.”
The strict enforcement came amid growing concerns about the impact of unauthorised pilgrims on public safety.
Last year, many of those who died during extreme summer heat were found to be unregistered participants, according to government sources.
Currently, approximately 1.4 million pilgrims with permits are in Mecca, with more expected to arrive in the coming days.
In a sign of increased surveillance and technological intervention, Saudi Civil Defence has deployed drones for the first time during the Hajj.
These drones will assist in crowd monitoring, surveillance, and even firefighting, officials said.
The Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a religious duty for Muslims who are physically and financially able to undertake the journey at least once in their lifetime.
This year’s pilgrimage is being held under high temperatures, raising further concerns for health and safety.
The Take It Back Movement has announced plans to hold a nationwide protest on June 12 to draw attention to the country’s worsening insecurity, shrinking civic space, and growing economic hardship.
In a statement on Monday by its National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, the movement condemned the rising wave of insecurity in the Middle Belt and northern parts of the country, pointing to continued attacks in Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, and other states.
According to Sanyaolu, communities have been wiped out while thousands remain displaced, with the government either turning a blind eye or denying the scale of the carnage.
“In Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, and across the Middle Belt, mass killings continue with terrifying frequency.
“Whole communities are decimated. Lives are snuffed out without consequences. Internally displaced persons multiply, while perpetrators roam free.
“The bloodletting has become a routine, and the state remains complicit, through its inaction, negligence, or outright denial. This is not a democracy. This is organised cruelty,” the statement partly read.
Sanyaolu also criticised the Federal Government’s alleged crackdown on dissent, citing arrests of protesters, detention of activists, and the targeting of journalists and social media users under the Cybercrime Act.
He described these actions as part of a broader campaign to silence opposition and stifle democratic expression.
Sanyaolu said, “Across the federation, the signs of democratic collapse are unmistakable. Democracy which was won through struggle, sweat, and blood has been dismantled by the very forces that once promised change. Nigeria stands today not as a democratic nation, but as a country at war with its own people.
“Freedom of speech is under attack. The state has turned on its citizens with an unrelenting campaign of intimidation and censorship. Journalists are harassed. Activists are detained. Citizens are arrested for social media posts.
“Through weaponisation of the Cybercrime Act, government agents now stalk the digital footprints of dissenters, silencing legitimate criticism and criminalising free expression.”
Rejecting official celebrations of Democracy Day, he urged Nigerians to take to the streets in peaceful protest, calling on workers, students, civil society groups, artisans, and members of the diaspora to join the action.
“This June 12, we march not just for ourselves, but for the slain in Benue, the displaced in Plateau, the silenced in detention, and the starving masses abandoned by a corrupt elite,” the statement concluded.
Turkey has expressed sympathy to Nigeria following the devastating floods that hit Mokwa and surrounding communities in Niger State.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed condolences to the Nigerian government and the families of those affected by the disaster.
The statement expressed sorrow over the loss of lives and extensive damage caused by the flooding in the Mokwa region.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives and destruction caused by the devastating floods in the Mokwa region of Niger State, Nigeria.
“We extend our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and to the people of Nigeria,” the statement read.
In response to the disaster, President Bola Tinubu on Saturday dispatched a high-level delegation to Niger State to assess the situation and support relief efforts.
According to figures released by the Niger State Government, at least 151 people have been confirmed dead, and more than 3,000 residents have been displaced.
The floods have also destroyed over 260 homes, township roads, and major bridges in Mokwa and Raba, compounding the humanitarian crisis in the area.
The Anambra State Police Command has arrested three suspected members of a robbery gang, who specialise in dispossessing residents of their belongings, especially vehicles, at gun point.
In a statement released on Monday, the spokesman for the state command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the suspects were arrested based on the confession of a detainee in custody.
Ikenga said the police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu carried out the arrest at Agukwu-Nri, Anaocha Local Government Area of the state on Saturday.
He said the team also recovered one automatic pump action gun, and items suspected to have been stolen, which include a white Mercedes Benz C300 4matic car with Reg No: KWC 140, ash Lexus 350 car with Reg No: 669 CY and two exotic phones.
He said, “Police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu in the early hours of May 30, 2025 acting on information obtained from an armed suspect in custody arrested one Monday Onoja, Sanusi Muhammed, Kenneth Nwokpu all males and within the age bracket of 27 – 32 years.
“The team also recovered one automatic pump action gun, and items suspected to have been stolen from victims which include a white Mercedes Benz C300 4matic car with Reg No: KWC 140, ash Lexus 350 car with Reg No: 669 CY and two exotic phones.
“The operatives have expanded investigations and emplaced every necessary measure to arrest other gang members that are currently at large.
“This development highlights the command’s proactive approach to potentially disrupting all criminal networks in the state.”
Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, says Nigerians will soon experience a reduction in the cost of living, as the effects of the administration’s economic reforms start to materialise
Speaking to newsmen in Lagos on Sunday, Onanuga stated that the positive effects of Tinubu’s policies would soon be felt across all segments of the nation.
Onanuga highlighted that the President had not only introduced progressive reforms but had also tackled challenges that previous administrations avoided.
He added that two years is an insufficient yardstick to fully measure the administration’s achievements, noting that policy experts typically assess the impact of policies over a period of 10 years to 12 years.
“The President’s years in office began with clear policy directions and implementation.
“A lot of reforms have taken place across sectors. The President has laid down many fundamentals that would ensure growth,” he stated.
He acknowledged that while the positives of the President’s actions over the past two years were gradually trickling down, a significant paradigm shift had occurred in the economy, addressing many pre-existing problems.
Onanuga, while referring to the situation before the subsidy removal, said, “There was no fuel. Many stations were saying no fuel, no fuel.
“What was happening at that time was that the NNPC had reached the bottom point. It had no money to import fuel, it claimed that it was owing suppliers about six billion dollars and the government was owing it about four trillion dollars. So, it could not import any more.”
Addressing concerns about borrowing, Onanuga clarified that it is a common practice globally, with even countries like the U.S. engaging in it.
“Nigeria has abundant resources that we are harnessing, but not as much readily available money as people might think,” he explained.
He stressed that borrowed funds were not squandered but rather used for their intended purposes, citing large-scale projects like the coastal roads that necessitate external financing due to their immense benefits.
Regarding currency devaluation, Onanuga explained that it is a universal economic principle, citing instances where even the UK and the US have resorted to it.
“Even UK and the US at some point devalued. These are economic principles that are universal and cannot be changed because it is Nigeria,” he asserted.
He added that the government had made tough decisions and simultaneously created opportunities through infrastructure development, noting that many ongoing road constructions were not initially part of the budget.
Onanuga further stated that Nigeria had seen an increase in production and a rise in disposable income.
He pointed to companies like Nestle and Nigerian Breweries, which initially faced challenges but were now sourcing materials locally and reporting profits.
“This economy has opened up opportunities in many forms for Nigerians. Those who can really exploit it. And they are making money,” he emphasised, giving examples of individuals making profits from exporting agricultural products like cocoa and even Zobo.
According to him, many companies are now investing and producing in Nigeria, and these positive shifts will soon become evident and tangible for all Nigerians.
Onanuga stressed the importance of public understanding of the economic context, saying, “We don’t do our people any good when we keep on pushing stories of gloom and doom without allowing them to see the truth, without allowing them to see the context, and without allowing them to know that there’s actually light at the end of the tunnel.”
Flash floods and landslides after torrential monsoon rain over the last two days killed at least 30 people in India’s northeast, officials said on Sunday.State disaster management officials said eight people died in Assam, and nine in Arunachal Pradesh, many of them in landslides as earth loosened by the water slumped into the valley below.
Another five people died in a landslide in the neighbouring state of Mizoram, state authorities said.
The officials said that six people lost their lives in Meghalaya, and at least two others were killed in the states of Nagaland and Tripura.
A red alert warning was issued for several districts in the region after the non-stop downpour over the last three days.
Rivers swollen by the lashing rain — including the mighty Brahmaputra, which rises in the Himalayas and flows through India’s northeast towards its delta in Bangladesh — broke their banks across the region.
The Indian army said that it had saved hundreds in a massive rescue operation across Manipur state.
“People have been shifted to safer places”, the army said on Saturday. “Food, water, and essential medicines were provided.”
Conrad K Sangma, the chief minister of Meghalaya state, has ordered officials to remain on high alert “especially in landslide-prone and low-lying areas”, he said in a statement.
Scores of people die each year during the rainy season due to flash floods and landslides across India, a country of 1.4 billion people.
India’s annual monsoon season, from June to September, offers respite from the intense summer heat and is crucial for replenishing water supplies, but it also brings widespread death and destruction.
South Asia is experiencing increased temperatures and has witnessed shifting weather patterns in recent years, but scientists remain unclear about how a warming planet is specifically affecting monsoons.
Last month, India’s financial capital, Mumbai, was swamped by monsoon rain that began two weeks earlier than usual, the earliest for nearly a quarter of a century, according to weather forecasters.
Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, has expressed sorrow over members of the Kano State contingent who died in a road crash while returning from the just-concluded National Sports Festival held in Ogun State.
The accident, which occurred on Saturday at Gadar Yankifi in Garun Mallam Local Government Area, claimed the lives of several athletes, coaches, and officials, just a few kilometres from Kano metropolis.
In a condolence message posted on his official Facebook page on Saturday, Barau described the incident as heartbreaking and prayed for divine mercy on the deceased and speedy recovery for those injured.
“I just received the sad news of the accident involving members of the Kano State contingent returning from the just-concluded National Sports Festival in Ogun State.
“May Allah SWT grant all those who lost their lives Jannatul Firdaus and quicken the recovery of the injured,” the Deputy Senate President wrote.
He extended his condolences to the bereaved families, the Kano State Government, the state’s sports community, and the entire people of the state.
The late athletes were part of the state’s delegation to the national event, representing Kano in various sporting competitions.
The senator’s message adds to the wave of condolences from across the country following the tragic loss, which Governor Abba Yusuf earlier described as a “dark moment” for the state.
The state government has since declared Monday, June 2, 2025, a work-free day in honour of the deceased.
The Kano State Government has declared Monday, June 2, 2025, as a public holiday to mourn and sympathise with the families of 22 young athletes, coaches, and officials, who died in a ghastly auto crash while returning from the just-concluded National Sports Festival in Ogun State.
Governor Abba Yusuf, who is currently in Saudi Arabia for the 2025 Hajj, described the accident as a “dark moment” for the state, saying it claimed the lives of some of Kano’s most promising youths.
In a statement on Saturday and signed by his spokesperson, Sanusi Tofa, the governor expressed deep sorrow and extended his condolences to the bereaved families and the entire sports community.
“It is with a deeply saddened heart that I received the tragic news of the unfortunate incident which claimed the lives of 22 innocent citizens and left several others injured.
“On behalf of the government and the good people of Kano State, I extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. We mourn with you and share in your grief,” the governor was quoted as saying.
The statement added that the victims were part of Kano’s official delegation to the National Sports Festival and included athletes, coaches, and other state officials.
The accident occurred along the Kano–Zaria expressway.
“This tragedy is a collective loss that has thrown the entire state into mourning.
“Most of the victims were young, vibrant talents who went out to make Kano proud at a national stage,” the statement read.
Yusuf called on the public to remain calm and united during this difficult time, assuring them that the government will provide all necessary support to the families of the deceased and the injured survivors.
To honour their memories, the governor directed that Monday be observed as a public holiday, encouraging residents across the state to use the day to reflect, pray, and support the grieving families.
“As a mark of honour and respect, His Excellency has directed that Monday, June 2, 2025, be declared a public holiday for the people of Kano to mourn and pray for the departed souls,” the statement added.
The state government also appealed to Islamic clerics and the wider Muslim community within and outside Kano to offer special prayers for the victims and ask for strength and patience for the bereaved families.
