Naija & Western gistNews · Celebs · Trends

Trend Naija

Saturday, 31 October 2026Lagos · LondonUpdated 06:42 GMT

Home › Politics

Politics

Tinubu arrives in Saudi Arabia for Umrah as Atiku and Sowore question the trip

President Bola Tinubu
Photo: Nosa Asemota / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

President Bola Tinubu left Abuja on Thursday, 29 October 2026, for Makkah in Saudi Arabia, where the Presidency says he will perform Umrah, the lesser Islamic pilgrimage. The trip has quickly become the latest flashpoint in the race for the 2027 presidential election.

What the Presidency said

Announcing the journey, the President's adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the visit was for spiritual reflection and prayers for Nigeria's peace, unity and progress. Before leaving, Tinubu was scheduled to commission new equipment for the Nigerian Air Force at the Presidential Wing of the Abuja airport. No return date was announced.

Atiku's demands

In a statement issued on Wednesday by Phrank Shaibu, communications director of the ADC presidential campaign, Atiku Abubakar claimed to have information that the President's real destination after a brief stop in Makkah was France. He asked the Presidency to publish daily proof of Tinubu's presence at the holy sites, to say whether the trip was linked to his health, to release the full itinerary and to explain how the journey was being paid for. The statement also raised questions about a reported loan request. Atiku said he would join other Nigerians in praying for the country but insisted the questions be answered.

Sowore's claim and the reply

Activist Omoyele Sowore also claimed the President was travelling for medical care. Responding on X on Thursday, Tinubu's aide on social media, Olusegun Dada, rejected the claim. He pointed to the President's recent schedule, including the flag-off of his re-election campaign in Kaduna, meetings at the State House and a Federal Executive Council meeting, and said a sick man could not keep such a programme. Dada added that Tinubu made similar trips before the APC primary and the general election in 2022.

More questions

On Thursday evening, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who is running for president on the APM ticket, also asked the Presidency to explain the true purpose of the trip, remarking that prayers can be answered from inside Nigeria too. Some Nigerians accused him of politicising a religious journey.

Arrival in Saudi Arabia

Late on Thursday, the Presidency said Tinubu had arrived in the kingdom, where he was received by Nigeria's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yakubu Gambo, and the head of Saudi royal protocol, Ahmad bin Thafir. It said he would perform the rites of Umrah and pray for Nigeria, and that he is expected back in the country next week.

On Friday, a video showing the President praying for Nigeria during his visit was widely shared online, drawing both praise from supporters and criticism from opponents.

What happens next

The opposition is expected to keep pressing for details while the President is away. The Presidency says he will return next week, but no exact date has been given.

More gist

PoliticsReported
Nasir El-Rufai
Photo: VOA / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Detained El-Rufai tags Trump, Macron and UN in appeal for a fair trial

Former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, who has been in anti-graft custody since February, has posted an appeal for a fair trial and tagged world leaders including Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron, as well as the UN and rights groups. The ICPC denies his claim that his detention is political.

Read more

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has taken his legal battle to the international stage, appealing for a fair trial in a social media post that tagged several world leaders and international bodies.

What he posted

In a post on X on Friday, 30 October 2026, under the hashtag #FairTrial, El-Rufai reportedly said that access to justice and a fair hearing are basic human rights, not favours to be granted at will. He tagged US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, the United Nations and its Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, the European Union, the African Union, the UK government and major media organisations. He did not make a specific formal request, but observers said the post was aimed at drawing international attention to his case.

His legal situation

El-Rufai has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) since February 2026, after being transferred from the EFCC. He faces corruption and money-laundering charges in cases at the Federal High Court and the Kaduna State High Court. He was briefly released in March to attend his mother's burial. On 9 October, the Court of Appeal in Kaduna dismissed his challenge to a refusal of bail, and on 26 October a Federal High Court in Abuja rejected his no-case submission in a separate case brought by the DSS, ordering him to open his defence on 25 November.

The other side

El-Rufai and his supporters say his detention is politically motivated. The ICPC rejects this, saying it has followed due process.

Background

El-Rufai governed Kaduna from 2015 to 2023 and was once a close ally of President Bola Tinubu before falling out with the ruling party. He has since aligned with the opposition.

PoliticsReported
Olusegun Obasanjo
Photo: Helene C. Stikkel / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Obasanjo says debt is worse than leprosy, calls Tinubu's borrowing remark 'nonsense'

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has reportedly hit back at President Tinubu's past remark that borrowing is not leprosy, saying debt destroys generations while leprosy destroys only one person. He spoke at a forum in Abeokuta, a day after Tinubu defended his government's new loans.

Read more

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu's attitude to government borrowing, reportedly describing the President's past comparison of debt to leprosy as nonsense.

What he said

Speaking at a public forum in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Friday, 30 October 2026, Obasanjo said debt was worse than leprosy because leprosy destroys only one person, while debt destroys generations. He was responding to a remark Tinubu made in April, when the President said borrowing was not leprosy and that the country simply had to work hard to repay its loans.

Other points

Obasanjo reportedly recalled that when he started his farm 47 years ago, one naira was worth more than a dollar, compared with about ₦1,500 to the dollar today, and asked what Nigeria had done with that time. He questioned whether the country's leaders understood its needs, criticised Nigeria's reliance on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and said Nigeria was advised not to subsidise its farmers while rich countries support theirs. He also warned against relying too heavily on foreign-trained economists whose advice may not suit Nigeria. The forum was focused on using artificial intelligence to solve grassroots problems.

Background

Obasanjo, who led Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, is credited by supporters with securing relief from much of the country's foreign debt in 2005. His comments came a day after Tinubu published an essay defending his government's new external loans, arguing that debt should be judged by what it builds and pointing to falling inflation and rising reserves. The President has asked the Senate to approve new borrowing of about $20.5 billion and €1 billion, which opposition figures including Atiku Abubakar have criticised.

What happens next

The Presidency had not responded to Obasanjo's remarks at the time of the report, and the debate over debt is likely to feature strongly in the 2027 campaign.

2027 electionsReported
A Nigeria Police armoured vehicle (stock image)
Stock image: theglobalpanorama / Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

Sokoto ADC governorship candidate says his convoy was attacked near airport

Manir Muhammad Dan'iya, the ADC governorship candidate in Sokoto State, says his convoy was blocked and shot at near the Sokoto airport on Friday night, damaging his vehicles. He blames state security personnel, while police say anyone found responsible will face the law.

Read more

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for governor of Sokoto State, Manir Muhammad Dan'iya, has alleged that his convoy was attacked near the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport in Sokoto on Friday night, 30 October 2026.

What he says happened

According to his media aide, Aminu Abdullahi, the incident happened at about 9pm, shortly after Dan'iya had seen off former governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal at the airport. He alleged that members of the Sokoto State Marshal and Community Guard blocked the convoy, saying they were acting on orders to keep ADC members out of the state. He said efforts to calm the situation failed before shots were fired. Dan'iya reportedly escaped unhurt, but his bulletproof vehicles were damaged, and he said two Department of State Services officers attached to his security team were taken away. He also said he had noticed unusual deployments at several entry points into the state earlier in the day.

Official response

The Sokoto State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Ahmad Rufae, said the command would take necessary action and that anyone found responsible would face the law. The Sokoto State Government and the Marshal and Community Guard had not publicly responded at the time of the report, and the allegations have not been independently verified.

What he is asking for

Dan'iya reported the matter to the state Commissioner of Police and asked the Inspector-General of Police and the head of the DSS to investigate and secure the release of the two officers. He also called on the state government to explain the alleged orders.

Background

The incident is the latest in a string of reported attacks on opposition figures as campaigning for the January 2027 elections intensifies. On the same day, AAC presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore said he was attacked in Ado-Ekiti, and an APC rally in Katsina was disrupted earlier this week.

2027 electionsReported
Peter Obi
Photo: VOA / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Obi promises to go into the bush himself to rescue kidnap victims if elected

NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi has reportedly told a rally in Bayelsa State that he would personally go into forests to rescue kidnap victims if he becomes president. He also promised free primary education and at least 10,000MW of electricity, and criticised President Tinubu's foreign trips.

Read more

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has reportedly promised to personally lead efforts to rescue kidnap victims if he is elected in 2027.

What he said

Speaking at a campaign rally in Bayelsa State on Friday, 30 October 2026, Obi said that if anyone kidnapped schoolchildren or anyone else under his government, he would go into the bush himself. He said he had recently travelled by road through several states, including Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa and Ebonyi, and that Nigeria's roads must be made safe. He said his government would start by uniting the country so that no region or group felt left out.

Other promises

Obi reportedly pledged that public money would be managed openly, that an NDC government would work with states to make primary education free, and that it would aim to generate, transmit and distribute at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity. He claimed current supply is far lower.

Criticism of Tinubu

Obi criticised President Bola Tinubu for not visiting Bayelsa, where oil was first discovered in Nigeria, and repeated his claim that the President spends a large part of the year abroad. The Presidency has previously rejected such claims, and had not responded to the latest remarks at the time of the report.

Background

Obi has held a series of town halls and rallies this week, including in Nasarawa, where he said election riggers would be jailed, and in Ebonyi. Insecurity, including kidnappings on highways and in schools, remains one of the biggest issues for voters ahead of the January 2027 elections.