Senator Saliu Mustapha has expressed confidence that he will defeat Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in the 2027 Kwara Central senatorial election.   Mustapha, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party, made the declaration during an interview with Channels Television on Friday. The senator said his departure from the APC was difficult because of his role in the formation of the party. He recalled serving as deputy national chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change and said he helped facilitate the merger that eventually produced the APC. Mustapha questioned AbdulRazaq’s political allegiance during the period the APC was formed, noting that the governor was then a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. “Where was Abdulrahman Abdulrazak then? Where was he then? He was in PDP then, fighting against us,” Mustapha said, according to TheCable. He said consultations with constituents and political stakeholders influenced his decision to leave the APC, describing the move as a collective response to what he called “shenanigans” within the party in Kwara. Mustapha had contested the APC governorship primary on May 22 but lost to Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly. Danladi-Salihu secured 94,990 votes in the primary. Following his failure to secure the governorship ticket, Mustapha also lost the opportunity to return to the Senate on the APC platform after AbdulRazaq emerged as the party’s preferred candidate for Kwara Central. Asked whether he could defeat the governor in the senatorial contest, Mustapha gave an emphatic response. “I will have won that election 12 o’clock before one o’clock,” he said. When asked whether he was specifically referring to defeating AbdulRazaq, he replied: “Yes, it will be one election; Nigerians will be waiting to see the result.” Mustapha also claimed that members of the G15, the Elders Caucus and the Otoge Progressives were favourably disposed towards supporting PDP candidates in the 2027 elections. He attributed the development to dissatisfaction over the conduct of the APC primaries, including what he described as inadequate consultation and a lack of a sense of belonging among stakeholders. According to him, Kwara had more than 160 aspirants for state House of Assembly seats, about 17 governorship aspirants, 64 House of Representatives aspirants and 15 senatorial aspirants before the APC primaries. Mustapha said several political parties approached the aggrieved stakeholders, but they chose the PDP because of its support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 ambition. “We looked at the most friendly party,” he said, describing the Wike-led PDP faction as the leading party outside the APC supporting Tinubu’s presidential bid. The comments set the stage for a closely watched political contest in Kwara Central as Mustapha prepares to challenge AbdulRazaq for the senatorial seat in 2027.

Liverpool and Manchester City begin a new chapter in the Premier League this weekend as both clubs face life without two of the division’s most influential figures, Mohamed Salah and Pep Guardiola.   According to PUNCH, citing AFP, Salah’s departure from Liverpool and Guardiola’s exit from Manchester City have brought an end to two defining eras in English football. Salah joined Turkish club Trabzonspor earlier this month after nine years at Liverpool. The Egypt international arrived from Roma in 2017 for £36m and went on to score 257 goals in 442 appearances in all competitions. During his time at Anfield, Salah won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup, establishing himself as one of the club’s greatest goalscorers. His final season, however, ended on a difficult note. He was dropped several times by former manager Arne Slot and publicly accused the club of throwing him “under the bus”. Salah scored only seven league goals as Liverpool finished fifth, leading to Slot’s eventual dismissal. New Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola now faces the task of rebuilding the attack without the 34-year-old forward. Alexander Isak is expected to play a major role after an injury-hit first season at Anfield, while new signing Victor Munoz and teenager Rio Ngumoha will also be under pressure to contribute. At Manchester City, Guardiola’s departure marks the end of a decade in which the Spaniard transformed the club into one of Europe’s dominant sides. Guardiola won six Premier League titles and City’s first Champions League trophy among 20 major honours after taking charge in 2016. He left after City won the FA Cup and League Cup in his final season but surrendered their Premier League crown to Arsenal, who finished seven points clear. Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has taken over at City and will begin his league reign against Bournemouth on Sunday. Maresca previously worked as Guardiola’s assistant during City’s treble-winning 2022-23 campaign, but he faces the challenge of succeeding a manager whose trophy haul set an exceptionally high standard. City have also undergone significant squad changes, with several established players, including Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez, leaving in recent years. Both clubs therefore enter the new Premier League campaign facing major questions about their ability to replace era-defining figures. Liverpool travel to Newcastle on Sunday, while Manchester City host Bournemouth as their post-Salah and post-Guardiola eras officially begin.

Trade negotiations between the United States and Canada have collapsed, raising fears of a renewed trade war between the two North American neighbours.   The talks broke down late Friday after Canada rejected what Washington described as the final terms of an agreement aimed at preventing sweeping new tariffs on Canadian imports. The development, first reported by The New York Times, came as the administration of US President Donald Trump prepared to introduce new levies on Canadian goods from early Saturday. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer accused Ottawa of abandoning the negotiating process after the two sides had made significant progress towards an agreement that would have provided Canadian exports with preferential access to the US market. Greer said Canada had introduced new demands and reversed some commitments reached during negotiations. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, however, rejected Washington’s account. He said the final conditions came from the US side and were unacceptable to Canada, describing the demands as “unfair” and “uneconomic”. Carney acknowledged that the negotiations had achieved considerable progress but said the outcome did not provide enough protection for Canadian interests. Tariffs threaten key industries The immediate disagreement centres on the scale and scope of the proposed US tariffs, with automobiles, steel, aluminium and lumber among the Canadian sectors facing major uncertainty. Washington had offered what Greer described as the most favourable treatment available to any major exporter to the US, but the two governments failed to resolve their remaining differences. The collapse could deepen an already damaging economic confrontation between the two countries, whose economies are closely connected through extensive cross-border supply chains. The automotive industry is particularly exposed, with manufacturing networks spanning both sides of the US-Canada border. Canada has threatened to retaliate if the new US tariffs are imposed. A US official also warned that Washington could respond to any Canadian counter-tariffs, raising the possibility of another cycle of escalating measures. The threat of renewed tariffs had already affected preparations at the US border. Shortly before Greer announced the collapse of the negotiations, US Customs and Border Protection issued guidance to importers on tariffs covering Canadian products identified by the administration. The breakdown leaves both governments facing an immediate economic and diplomatic challenge, removing what had appeared to be a possible route towards easing tensions. For Carney’s government, the next steps are expected to focus on protecting Canadian industries from the new levies while managing potential effects on businesses and consumers. For Trump, the collapse reinforces his administration’s broader push for trading partners to make greater concessions to the United States.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, accusing the administration of worsening the cost-of-living crisis despite increased government revenues.   Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement issued on Friday. His comments followed Tinubu’s description of Atiku’s proposal to reintroduce a form of petrol subsidy as evidence of “serious ignorance” of governance and economic management. Atiku said his proposal was not a return to the previous open-ended petrol subsidy regime. Instead, he described it as a targeted, capped, budgeted and time-bound production-support mechanism aimed at increasing domestic refining and protecting consumers from sharp price shocks. He argued that Nigeria’s economic circumstances had changed significantly since Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023. According to Atiku, the subsidy removal, combined with foreign exchange liberalisation, contributed to increases in petrol prices, transport costs and food prices, while the naira also depreciated significantly. “Economic prescriptions respond to prevailing conditions,” Atiku said, arguing that current economic realities required policymakers to reassess existing measures. Atiku questions NNPC costs The former vice president also questioned petroleum-related costs recorded in the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. He cited figures of approximately ₦17.5tn in energy-security costs and petroleum under-recoveries, including about ₦7.13tn classified as energy-security costs and ₦8.67tn in under-recoveries. The figures were presented by Atiku as part of his argument that questions remain over the financial arrangements surrounding the petroleum sector. “If subsidy is dead, why are under-recoveries alive?” Atiku asked, while also calling for greater transparency over petroleum-sector finances. He further questioned approximately ₦30tn in Federation Account revenues, deductions, savings and transfers that he said required reconciliation, as well as the ₦12.8tn Service-Wide Vote contained in the 2026 budget. FG defends subsidy removal The Federal Government has maintained that petrol subsidy had become financially unsustainable and that its removal was necessary to free resources for development, strengthen public revenues and reduce distortions in the petroleum market. The administration has also pointed to increased Federation Account allocations to states as one of the benefits of the reforms. Atiku rejected that argument, saying higher government allocations should not be treated as evidence of economic success if ordinary Nigerians were simultaneously experiencing reduced purchasing power and rising living costs. He argued that economic reforms should ultimately be judged by their effect on citizens rather than the size of government revenues. The renewed dispute over petrol subsidy comes as Nigeria moves towards the 2027 presidential election, with the economic impact of Tinubu’s reforms emerging as a major political issue.