President Bola Tinubu will on Friday join fellow Muslims at the National Mosque in Abuja for a special prayer session for the nation to mark his 73rd birthday, which is on Saturday.

“He will also use this occasion to thank God for preserving and supporting him in the onerous task of piloting the nation’s affairs,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed in a statement he signed Thursday.

The statement was titled, ‘President Tinubu To Mark 73rd Birthday with Special Prayer at the Abuja National Mosque.’

President Tinubu’s birthday coincides with the holy month of Ramadan and comes two months before his administration’s second anniversary.

Onanuga said, “On this significant day, the President will dedicate himself to spiritual reflection and supplication for Nigeria’s continued peace, progress, and prosperity.

“Choosing a prayer session reflects President Tinubu’s dedication to Nigeria’s spiritual and moral well-being and his commitment to seeking divine guidance, insight, and strength in leadership. He believes collective prayer is a powerful tool for guiding the nation towards progress and harmony.”

President Tinubu invited the public to join the prayer session in spirit by offering prayers at their places of worship or wherever they may be, reinforcing a nationwide commitment to unity and shared destiny.”

According to the statement, the President expressed profound gratitude to Nigerians for their unwavering support and goodwill as his administration works tirelessly to advance economic reforms, strengthen national security, and expand opportunities for all citizens.

“I am deeply thankful to Allah for the gift of life and the privilege to serve this great nation. As I mark another birthday and look forward to our second anniversary, my heart is filled with Renewed Hope for Nigeria.

“I urge all citizens to pray for divine guidance, unity, and healing for our land. Together, we shall overcome challenges and build a nation where every citizen thrives,” he stated.

The President reaffirmed his commitment to consolidating democratic gains, fostering economic recovery, and promoting national cohesion.

Therefore, he encouraged citizens to remain steadfast in believing in Nigeria’s destiny as a beacon of hope in Africa.

A 37-year–old housewife, Linda Stephen, on Tuesday, approached a Kaduna Customary Court, asking for a divorce over her husband, Felix Stephen’s excessive sexual demands.

The petitioner, who is a resident of Ungwan Sunday in Kaduna, further accused her husband of beating her whenever she refused his sexual advances.

In her petition, she told the court that she and her estranged husband had been married for six years.

While urging the court to grant her divorce from her husband, Mrs Stephen informed the court that she was no longer interested in the marriage as she could no longer cope with his demands for sex.

“I urge the court to dissolve this marriage because I can’t stand his excessive sexual urge. He likes sex too much, and I can’t bear it.

“Most times, he would have sex with me from midnight till early hours of the morning. Even when I am crying, he will not stop.

“It has been three months since I moved out of his house, his relatives have been pleading with me to go back to him, but they do not know what I am facing,” she said.

She also stated that her husband does not control himself whenever he needs sex and that whenever she refused his sexual advances, he would beat her up, even in front of their two kids.

The respondent, Stephen, in his defence, said he was ready to control his sexual urge.

He told the court that he was in love with his wife, pleading with the court to help him pacify her, and not grant her wish.

“I took my uncles and friends to her parents’ house to plead with her. But she refused to listen to us, so she walked out on us,” he said.

He further pleaded with the court to give him time to sort things out and reconcile with his wife.

After listening to the testimonies of the couple, the Court President, John Dauda, adjourned the matter until May 6, 2025, for feedback and the outcome of the reconciliation, while advising them to maintain peace.

A group within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, known as the Conference of Professionals, CP-PDP, has backed Sunday Ude-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary.

In a statement made available to DAILY POST on Sunday, signed by its Protem National Coordinator, Barr. Obinna Nwachukwu, the group said it took the stand after a review of the issues in the party, as well as the recent Supreme Court judgement.

It said it welcomed the judgement of the Supreme Court which decisively affirmed the supremacy of political parties in the management of their internal affairs, including determination of its officials, membership and even nomination of candidates for election among others, to which the courts have no jurisdiction.

“The Conference notes that the judgment has further strengthened the nation’s democracy by affirming the powers of political parties to internally determine their structures and operations in compliance with the provisions of their Constitutions and Guidelines.

“Against this backdrop, the Conference stands with the stated position of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP in recognizing Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh-Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of the PDP, Okoye having emerged through the internal democratic processes in line with provisions of the PDP Constitution.

“The Conference urges Rt. Hon. Udeh-Okoye to brace up and join hands with other members of the NWC to further stabilize the PDP by instilling discipline, reconciliations, unity of purpose and strengthening our party’s structure across the country for the task ahead.

“The Conference again urges the leadership of the PDP to sanitize the party by immediately expelling the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, from the party,” the statement read

Meanwhile, the CP-PDP expressed shock and dismay over what it called “the manipulative and overbearing action of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led leadership of the National Assembly in approving the unconstitutional suspension of a democratically elected governor and the legislature of a state by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).”

It described the action of the APC-led leadership of the National Assembly as a total betrayal of public trust and demanded the immediate resignation of the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“The CP-PDP urges Nigerians to defend the nation’s democracy by speaking out against the constitutional violations by the APC,” the statement concluded.

Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the ongoing communal clashes between Ifon-Osun and Ilobu communities.
According to report the crisis, which started late on Thursday night, has resulted in significant loss of lives and properties worth millions of Naira.

In a statement released on Friday and signed by Kola Olabisi, its Director of Media and Information, the party criticised Governor Ademola Adeleke’s handling of the crisis, describing his administration as lacking the political will to end the conflict, which has occurred eight times in the last 18 months.

“The deep-seated incapability of the Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke to statecraft is manifesting again with the resurgence of the communal crisis,” he said.

According to the APC, the clashes have claimed at least 30 lives, with numerous houses, shops, and vehicles set ablaze.

The party also reported that a former councillor was among the casualties, while the wife of the Olobu of Ilobu, Olori Bola, lost her shop to the violence.

“Video footage circulating online shows residents fleeing both towns in large numbers, fearing further attacks. The lingering hostility between the two communities has thrown the entire state into pandemonium,” the statement added.

The APC alleged that key figures within Governor Adeleke’s administration have ties to criminal activities, making it difficult for the state government to restore order.

The party named individuals allegedly involved in violent activities, including a gubernatorial appointee facing murder and terrorism charges.

“How would criminals on rampage fear the government when the chief executive of the state has over the period proven he is a lover and an enabler of crime?” The statement queried.

The party further accused Adeleke of failing to address violence in other Osun communities, including Iddo-Osun, Egbedi, and Esa-Oke, where similar incidents of unrest have occurred.

“We call on the Federal Government and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, come to the aid of the people of the feuding communities,” he added.

Also, the Ilobu community in Osun State has issued a desperate call to President Bola Tinubu, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, and Director of the Department of State Security Adeola Ajayi, seeking immediate intervention in what they describe as an ongoing assault by neighbouring Ifon-Osun and Erin-Osun communities.

Their appeal was contained in a statement obtained by DAILY POST and signed by Pastor Olufemi Salako, National President of the Ilobu Development Union, IDU.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Osun State Government after an emergency meeting with security agencies and other stakeholders, reimposed a dusk to dawn curfew on Ifon and Ilobu communities of Osun State.

The curfew, which would last from 6pm to 6am daily until peace is restored to both warring communities, was announced through a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, on Friday.

It would also be recalled that following the outbreak of incessant communal clashes in the two communities, Governor Adeleke, a few weeks ago, ordered the imposition of a curfew.

The Alase of Ilase Kingdom in the Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, Oba John Olaifa, has urged the state government to hasten the repair of the Mayigi Community Comprehensive High School that collapsed and killed a 14-year-old Junior Secondary School 3 pupil, Timothy Amosun, following a heavy rainstorm.

TheNigerian Metro reports that the incident which occurred on Wednesday left nine other persons injured and classrooms destroyed.

The Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Information and Strategy, Mr Kayode Akinmade, disclosed in a statement that the sad news was shocking while expressing the governor’s sorrow over the pupil’s death.

Speaking with our correspondent in a telephone conversation on Thursday, the monarch noted that the school was built by the community before it was handed over to the government.

Olaifa noted that the government after the takeover of the school, contributed to the facilities available in it currently.

He appealed to the state government to hasten the repair of the collapsed building so that the learners could continue to access the needed education.

Olaifa said, “The incident is saddening. It was caused by a rainstorm. The school was constructed by the community before the community handed it over to the government.

“Our appeal to the government is to hasten the repair of the school so that the students can continue their learning.”

Meanwhile, Akinmade had in the Wednesday statement noted that the government would be responsible for the medical bills of the injured and that “he had directed the concerned agencies to move the victims who are in critical condition to specialist hospitals within and outside the state, where they are currently receiving maximum medical attention.

“He also mentioned that he had directed the Commissioner for Education to visit the families of the victims and the school to take an inventory of what needs to be done to rebuild the damaged school,” Akinmade said.

A widow, Mrs Immaculate Akpan, has cried out to both the federal and state governments and public-spirited individuals for assistance over the gruesome murder of her husband who was beheaded when armed hoodlums allegedly from Eket Local Government Area invaded Ndito Eka Iba village in Ibeno Local Government Area.

TheNigerian Metro gathered that her husband, a fisherman from Eket LGA, was killed for allegedly acting as an informant against the Eket aggressors, accused to be seeking to annex and cede the Ndito Eka Iba village to Eket.

The latest attack was the fourth in a series of attacks on Ibeno LGA since the controversial attempt by former Governor Emmanuel Udom to remap Akwa Ibom State, a case said to be still in court.

Speaking with journalists while fighting back tears in Ibeno LGA, on Saturday, the widow recalled that they had lived peacefully in Ndito Eka Iba village for several years with no rancour.

She further recalled that the attack on the fishing community on Christmas Eve 2024 had left a huge scar on the Ndito Eka Iba village, after the invaders destroyed churches, and several boats with outboard engines, cars, motorcycles and other valuables including fishing gears.

Lamenting her ordeals, the mother of four expressed sadness over the incident that cost the life of her husband and several missing children, whose whereabouts remained unknown.

According to her, “When our neighbours from Eket LGA launched the attack on the night of December 24, 2024, we were caught unawares.

“Before the attack, the invaders had attempted to host a festival to herald Christmas Day, but instead of using the village name of Ndito Eka Iba, which is unit 6 ward 10 and a gazetted village in Ibeno LGA, they instead used the name Okoiyak Ekid, to reflect their Eket identity; claiming that Ndito Eka Iba village in Ibeno LGA, no longer belongs to Ibeno LGA, but Eket LGA.

“Because of this, the youths of Ndito Eka Iba village approached them, and advised them against such plans to alter the original name, but they threatened war, which they (the Eket people) later launched late that night, forcing people to escape into the dark shrub where they spent the night before emerging in the morning to seek refuge in safer locations.

“The entire Ndito Eka Iba has been left in total ruins and I have relocated to my village – Odio, in Eket LGA, after my husband had been killed and his remains buried in a shallow grave without his head, which was severed from the rest of his body and taken away by the attackers.”

According to her, “I have been dislocated from where I used to eke out my living with my four children, trading in fish, crayfish and other seafood like periwinkles, prawns and others.”

She appealed to concerned authorities including the State Emergency Management Agency  the National Emergency Management Agency, churches, individual and corporate organisations for relief materials for her and other displaced victims,

The widow lamented, “It has become too difficult to feed and clothe my four children in a new location without a job or business.”

The Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, when contacted by TheNigerian Metro on Sunday, said the suspects were still in custody, maintaining that “investigations on the case had since been concluded and the suspects charged to court.”

He said no one had any right to interfere in the matter, adding, “I take full responsibility over the case, and I have spoken with the investigative officer who told me that the matter had already been charged to court.”

A pepper seller in the Mushin area of Lagos State, Friday Aloh, whose wife gave birth to triplets at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, on Tuesday, is urgently seeking financial assistance to offset the hospital bills.

TheNigerian Metro gathered that the young couple had previously welcomed twins a few years before the wife gave birth to triplets on Tuesday.

During an interview with TheNigerian Metro on Wednesday, the distressed father lamented that the birth of the triplets had left his family’s future looking bleak and uncertain.

While appealing for financial assistance from well-meaning Nigerians, Aloh lamented that the country’s economic hardship had crippled his business, making it difficult to provide for their three children let alone the additional three his wife was delivered of on Tuesday.

He said, “In September 2019, God blessed us with two bouncing baby girls. In 2023, we had a bouncing baby girl. Yesterday, she (my wife) gave birth to triplets; two boys and one girl. Right now, we are still at the LASUTH. We are here.

“I run a small foodstuff business, selling dry pepper at the Mushin Market. However, I’ve been facing challenges because sales are no longer as good as they used to be. The economy has badly affected my business.

“Taking care of these triplets is not an easy task for me. I am seeking help from anyone, be it individuals or organisations, to support us. People keep asking how we are managing and my only answer is that it’s by God’s grace. We need assistance to pay the hospital and raise these children,” Aloh pleaded.

He added that the hospital had not yet provided them with the bills, but he had already exhausted all his money, saying the family was concerned about how much longer they would need to stay at the hospital.

“We have spent everything we had on various medical tests and purchasing blood,” Aloh lamented.

The mother of the triplets, Salome Aloh, expressed similar concerns during a separate telephone interview with TheNigerian Metro on Wednesday.

“I am still in the hospital, and we have no means to pay the bills or care for these babies. We already have a set of twins and a daughter, and we never expected to have triplets this time. We are pleading with Nigerians to come to our aid,” she pleaded.

The family informed our correspondent that they could be reached at 07032627827 for any assistance.