Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Navy, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, has explained why the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, lack the required political capacity to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Gagdi, who said the ruling All Progressives Congress noted that the APC is far ahead of the opposition in political mobilisation, insisted that he had seen nothing to suggest that either Atiku or Obi was preparing effectively to unseat the president.

“I have never, in my political imagination, thought that my party, APC, would lose an election,” he said.

According to him, “What are the opposition doing? What are the opposition planning or doing? I have not seen, with the activities of the opposition, those you mentioned, Peter Obi or Atiku. I have not seen any effort being put in place by them to unseat or defeat the president come 2027. I would say this any day, anytime.”

Gagdi argued that the APC had maintained sustained political activities across the country, unlike opposition parties.

“You have seen APC’s activities in the last one year across Nigeria, in the four corners of Nigeria where our political activities are ten times the political activities of any opposition political party in Nigeria,” he said.

“So who is supposed to talk to another person about planning to win an election?”

The Plateau lawmaker dismissed suggestions that only opposition politicians were strategising ahead of the next general election.

“You think Bola Tinubu and the APC are not trying to win elections in 2027? Atiku and Obi have always been defeated,” he stated.

Gagdi maintained that political parties naturally prepare for elections, saying it would be wrong to suggest that only opposition politicians were planning for 2027.

“If you think they are planning, what makes you think that the APC is not planning to win elections? Are we sleeping? What planning are they doing?” he asked.

The lawmaker also accused some opposition figures of exploiting the country’s security challenges for political advantage instead of offering practical solutions.

“From the tune of some people that are supposed to be leaders of this country when they are talking about what Nigerians are passing through, you will see it from them that they seem to appreciate the situation Nigeria is going through.”

“Instead of lamenting and proffering solutions, you lament and tie it to the fact that government is defective in solving that problem just to achieve some political gain

DAILY POST reports that the African Democratic Congress and NDC have all confirmed that Atiku’s and Peter Obi’s credentials have been uploaded on the INEC portal ahead of the 2027 general elections. This means Tinubu, Atiku, and Peter Obi will have to slug it out in the 2027 election. 

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is set to introduce “downloadable Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs” for voters who have misplaced or defaced their original cards.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this when he received the Director-General of National Orientation Agency, NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, who paid a courtesy visit to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday

Amupitan explained that the new technology was part of ongoing efforts to modernise Nigeria’s electoral processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to him, the downloadable PVC option will not be automatic or open to firm-time registrants who have never collected a physical card.

“It is not every PVC that is downloadable. You must have gotten your PVC before and it must be that the PVC is lost, defaced or if you cannot read your numbers there,” he stated.

He further stated that affected voters must formally lodge a complaint at least 90 days before an election to enable the commission to process the replacement.

Amupitan said that the commission would pilot the downloadable PVC technology during the off-cycle Osun governorship election in August.

He also disclosed that INEC was finalising work on a technology that would allow eligible citizens to complete their voter registration entirely online without visiting INEC offices for physical biometric capture.

“We have also been working on the technology that is going to make it possible for the registration of voters online without even having to visit INEC local government or registration areas.

“So hopefully in the next few days, we will be testing it as soon as the commission approves it,” he said.

Amupitan said that those advancements were aimed at eliminating the feeling of disenfranchisement among citizens and ensuring that everyone who desired to register could do so seamlessly.

The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, has again adjourned the suit challenging the conduct and outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship primary election to July 22, 2026.

The case, which seeks the nullification of the APC chairmanship primary election, came up before the court for definite hearing on Wednesday.

During the proceedings, the presiding judge, Justice Mashkur Salisu, adjourned the matter to allow for hearing on the originating summons filed by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff is asking the court to declare the chairmanship primary election invalid, alleging that the exercise did not comply with the provisions of the law and the party’s guidelines.

The suit is expected to determine the legality of the primary election and could have significant implications for the APC’s leadership in Taraba State.

Counsel to the parties were present in court and are expected to present their legal arguments when the matter resumes on the adjourned date.

The court fixed July 22, 2026, for hearing on the originating summons, when the substantive issues raised in the suit will be argued before the court.

The outcome of the case is being closely monitored by party members, political stakeholders and observers across the state, given its potential impact on the APC’s internal leadership structure and political activities in Taraba State.