An African Democratic Congress, ADC, governorship aspirant in Rivers State, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, has responded to a comment by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, declaring that he would decide the next governor of the state.

On February 3, 2026, the FCT minister, while addressing his supporters in the state, said he would announce his preferred governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike noted that whoever he announces will succeed the incumbent governor, Siminalayi Fubara in 2027.

Reacting, Nwibubasa in an interview with Arise News on Thursday, said power belongs to God, describing Wike’s comment as blasphemy.

“Minister Wike said he is the one who will decide the next governor of Rivers State and whoever he decides will become the governor.

“Of course power is an absolute property of God and if any man says so, he is only elevating himself to the position of God. I don’t see that happening, that’s blasphemy,” he said.

The ADC chieftain also slammed Governor Fubara over the latter’s inability to make firm political decisions, calling on Rivers people to sit up and vote out such personalities.

“Rivers People must sit up because if we don’t and we begin to support characters like that of the sitting governor who can say something yesterday and something else today.

“Rivers people must have an option this time to see that our state is liberated from the hands of these men,” he added

The family of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed as fake a letter circulating on social media and purportedly addressed to the leadership of the African Democratic Congress.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, on behalf of the family, the document titled “Urgent Message” and dated July 14, 2026, was described as a fabrication that did not originate from the former governor.

According to the statement, the letter, which was purportedly addressed to the National Chairman and National Secretary of the ADC, should be ignored by members of the public.

“The former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, CON, wishes to alert the public that a fake letter is in circulation, purported to have been signed by him, titled Urgent Message,” the statement read.

It added, “The spurious letter, purportedly dated July 14, 2026, and addressed to the National Chairman and National Secretary of the ADC, should be disregarded.”

The family further maintained that neither the content nor the handwriting in the document belonged to El-Rufai, accusing those behind it of attempting to create confusion.

“Neither the poor content nor the handwriting has anything to do with Mallam Nasir El-Rufai,” the statement said.

It added that the document represented “another resort to desperation by Mallam’s traducers who seek to sow confusion and division,” describing it as “an instance of the most primitive politics” and urging the public to reject it.

The letter circulating online reportedly questioned the emergence of Isah Ashiru as the ADC governorship candidate in Kaduna State. It claimed Ashiru’s nomination had sparked internal tensions because he allegedly failed to complete the party’s online membership registration before the April 30, 2026 deadline, which it described as a constitutional requirement.

The purported document also urged the ADC’s national and state leadership to intervene and review the matter.

However, El-Rufai’s family insisted that the former governor had no connection with the letter and reiterated its call on the public to disregard it.

Retired American mental health counsellor, Jeffrey Guterman, has said the lobbying effort initiated by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over President Bola Tinubu’s alleged past US forfeiture case will not prevent the President from winning the 2027 general election.

Guterman made the remark in a post on his X handle on Thursday while reacting to reports that Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., engaged by Atiku, had begun sharing documents relating to alleged Tinubu’s long-running US forfeiture case with officials in the administration of President Donald Trump, members of Congress and congressional staff.

According to the firm, it is distributing records from the US Department of Justice concerning allegations linked to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving funds connected to Tinubu.

DAILY POST reports that Atiku reportedly hired the lobbying firm in March under a 12-month contract valued at $1.2 million to undertake advocacy, diplomatic outreach and present his perspectives on issues concerning Nigeria-US relations.

Reacting, Guterman argued that the lobbying effort would have little impact on the outcome of Nigeria’s next presidential election.

He wrote: “Let’s be honest with ourselves. The U.S. lobbying effort to reveal Nigeria President Tinubu’s drug trafficking will do nothing. He will probably win in 2027 due to propaganda news on Tinubu.

“I affirm that Tinubu will win in 2027 unless on election day rigging and violence, like there was in 2023, is stopped.”

Earlier, Paul Ibe, an aide to Atiku, claimed that President Trump had been made aware of court documents relating to Tinubu’s past legal records in the United States.

In a post on X, Ibe alleged that Tinubu’s 60-page US Department of Justice files on alleged heroin trafficking and the forfeiture of $460,000 had been brought to Trump’s attention through the lobbying firm, Batten Von.

He maintained that Nigerians deserved to know the full details of the matter.

However, former lawmaker, Shehu Sani, criticised Atiku’s decision to engage a US lobbying firm to circulate documents relating to Tinubu’s past forfeiture case.

Sani described the move as unconscionable and unpatriotic.

He warned that involving foreign lobby groups against Nigeria’s President could damage the country’s international reputation, deepen global distrust of Nigerians and expose the country to sanctions or visa restrictions.

He also argued that the opposition should pursue political change through democratic processes within Nigeria rather than seeking foreign intervention.