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The Presidency has refuted reports suggesting that Nigeria had an empty stand at the ongoing 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama, Japan.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga clarified that President Bola Tinubu’s delegation is attending the summit for high-level engagements, not for trade exhibitions.

According to him, the Nigerian team is concentrating on securing strategic partnerships in key sectors, including power, industry, and agriculture.

The clarification followed viral photos on social media showing an empty space marked “Nigeria,” which drew criticism from the public. Onanuga, however, described the reports as misleading.

“Nigeria is not participating as a trade exhibitor,” he said, adding that while some of the concerns were driven by patriotism, they reflected a misunderstanding of the country’s actual objectives at TICAD9.

The Kano State Hisbah Board has unveiled plans to sponsor the weddings of repentant bandits as part of the government’s ongoing reintegration efforts.

Commander-General of Hisbah, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, disclosed this development after more than 1,000 youths surrendered their weapons and publicly renounced violence.

According to him, the initiative aligns with Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s programme aimed at helping youths who have abandoned crime to build stable and decent lives.

“This programme is part of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s initiative to support youths who have turned away from crime and want to live a decent life,” Sheikh Daurawa said, while urging the youths to ensure their repentance was genuine. He also appealed to others still engaged in violence to embrace the opportunity.

At the event held at the Police Headquarters in Bompai, Governor Yusuf—represented by the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya—stated that the police screening exercise marked the first stage of rehabilitation.

“After this, the NDLEA will also screen the youths to confirm the sincerity of their repentance,” the governor noted.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed the 2027 presidential ambition of former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, describing it as “dead on arrival.”

Wike, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, was reacting to Amaechi’s recent claims that he knows President Bola Tinubu’s weaknesses and could defeat him in a presidential contest.

According to Wike, Amaechi is fully aware that he stands no chance of clinching the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), where he is currently a member.

“He knows he won’t get the ticket,” Wike said. “I read that he said he knows the weaknesses of the president, so he knows how to defeat him. But he also knew those weaknesses in 2022, when the president defeated him mercilessly in the primary.”

Although there have been speculations about Amaechi’s interest in running for president under the ADC platform in 2027, Wike insisted the former Rivers State governor has no viable pathway to the presidency.

A chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, has dismissed the possibility of any political alliance between the party’s leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on Monday, Galadima pointed to the ongoing Kano Emirate crisis as evidence of deep divisions between the two sides.

“How can Kwankwaso be a friend of the APC with what they are doing to us in Kano? Appointing two emirs in one town? There is a Federal Government emir and a state emir. Who has the responsibility to appoint emirs and pay them their salaries?” he asked.

Galadima further accused security agencies of being deployed to protect one faction of the Kano emirate while neglecting the worsening insecurity faced by residents across the state.

“They have their emirs. They have not less than 40 pickup vehicles filled with mobile police guarding the Emir (Ado Bayero). In some localities in Kano, people are being killed and their handsets taken, while the police are tied down. Are they not ashamed?” he queried.