Nigeria's ruling party endorses President Tinubu for 2027 re-election
FILE PHOTO: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu looks on as he meets with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the day of the 11th Bi-National Commission between the two countries at Tuynhuys, in Cape Town, South Africa, December 3, 2024.REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo
LAGOS - Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party on Thursday endorsed President Bola Tinubu to run for a second and final term at the next election, due in early 2027.
Tinubu, 73, won the last presidential vote in February 2023, which his two main rivals unsuccessfully challenged in court, alleging the vote was rigged. Tinubu said he won fairly.
The APC said at a summit in Abuja, the capital, that it wanted Tinubu to continue with reforms that the government says have rebooted the economy after removing a costly petrol subsidy and liberalising the exchange rate.
Tinubu's reforms have won applause from credit ratings agencies, foreign investors and the International Monetary Fund. Critics say they have caused the worst cost-of-living crisis in recent memory.
Abdullahi Ganduje, the APC national chairman, said, "On behalf of the National Working Committee I hereby affirm the various endorsements and declare President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as sole presidential candidate of APC."
The summit coincided with the second anniversary of Tinubu's presidency, and several cabinet ministers also spoke about their achievements since taking office.
Presidents in Nigeria can serve a maximum of two four-year terms.
Although Tinubu faces criticism that his policies have hurt Nigerians and that he has failed to end insecurity, including a long-running Islamist insurgency and banditry, the opposition is seen as too divided and weak to mount a serious challenge.
The opposition parties have also been hit by some high-profile defections to the APC. Tinubu said he expected more such defections, adding, "That is the game." REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
13 hours ago
- Straits Times
Egypt unveils plan for new desert city in latest megaproject
Egyptian farmers use a threshing machine as they harvest wheat crop at a farmland on the River Nile, near Cairo, Egypt. PHOTO: REUTERS CAIRO - Egypt on June 1 unveiled plans for a vast new urban development west of Cairo where a man-made channel of the River Nile will eventually wind through what was once arid desert. The new city, named Jirian meaning 'Flow' in Arabic, is part of Egypt's Nile Delta scheme, a massive agricultural initiative aiming to reclaim about 10,117 sq km west of the original Nile Delta. The ambitious agricultural project, which started in 2021, seeks to boost production of strategic crops such as wheat and corn while reducing the North African country's food import bill. The project is the latest in a string of megaprojects launched by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in recent years, including a new administrative capital east of Cairo. While officials say these projects are key to Egypt's long-term growth, they have also contributed to the country's soaring foreign debt, which quadrupled since 2015 to reach US$155.2 billion (S$200 billion) by late 2024. The country has also received billions of dollars from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union to ensure its financial stability, with the EU pledging billions more in May. At a launch event on June 1, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli called the Jirian project 'an urban and development revolution'. He added that it would create 250,000 jobs and serve as the cornerstone of a wider development zone equivalent in size to four to five governorates. 'We are talking about full-spectrum development,' he told reporters, describing a sprawling urban zone that will include industry, logistics hubs and homes for 'between 2.5 and 3 million families'. The government did not disclose the total cost of the project which is being developed in partnership with three major Egyptian real estate firms. The new Nile Delta project comes at a time when Egypt is already under pressure to secure its water future. With 97 per cent of its fresh water sourced from the Nile, the country has been locked in a years-long dispute with Addis Ababa over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo fears could reduce downstream water flows. Developers said that a canal connected to the Nile will run through the heart of the 7 sq km Jirian city, occupying a fifth of its total area and serving both as a scenic centrepiece and an irrigation source for surrounding farmland. The project will feature luxury residences, 80-storey skyscrapers, international universities and hospitals, an eco-friendly hotel, commercial zones as well as a cultural and media district, they added. It will also lie just minutes away from the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is due to fully open in July, the Giza Pyramids and nearby Sphinx international airport. Construction began five months ago and is expected to be completed within five years, according to the project's developers. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Bangladesh top court restores largest Islamist party
Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami leader A.T.M. Azharul Islam (centre) gestures after he was released from prison in Dhaka on May 28. PHOTO: AFP DHAKA - Bangladesh on June 1 restored the registration of the largest Islamist party, allowing it to take part in elections, more than a decade after it was removed under the now-overthrown government. The Supreme Court overturned a cancellation of Jamaat-e-Islami's registration, allowing it to be formally listed as a political party with the Election Commission. 'The Election Commission is directed to deal with the registration of that party in accordance with law,' commission lawyer Towhidul Islam told AFP. Jamaat-e-Islami party lawyer, Mr Shishir Monir, said the Supreme Court's decision would allow a 'democratic, inclusive and multi-party system' in the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people. 'We hope that Bangladeshis, regardless of their ethnicity or religious identity, will vote for Jamaat, and that the parliament will be vibrant with constructive debates,' Mr Monir told journalists. After Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister in August, the party appealed for a review of the 2013 high court order banning it. The June 1 decision comes after the Supreme Court on May 27 overturned a conviction against a key leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, A.T.M. Azharul Islam. Mr Islam had been sentenced to death in 2014 for rape, murder and genocide during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Jamaat-e-Islami supported Islamabad during the war, a role that still sparks anger among many Bangladeshis today. They were rivals of Ms Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of the Awami League, who would become Bangladesh's founding figure. Ms Hasina banned Jamaat-e-Islami during her tenure and cracked down on its leaders. In May, Bangladesh's interim government banned the Awami League, pending the outcome of a trial over its crackdown on mass protests that prompted her ouster in 2024. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Saudi Arabia to provide financial support with Qatar to Syria's state employees, Saudi foreign minister says
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud attends a press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani (not pictured), in Damascus, Syria May 31, 2025. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar Saudi Arabia to provide financial support with Qatar to Syria's state employees, Saudi foreign minister says CAIRO - Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said on Saturday that the kingdom will jointly offer with Qatar financial support to state employees in Syria. "The kingdom will provide with Qatar joint financial support to state employees in Syria," Bin Farhan said during a press conference with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shibani in Damascus. He did not provide details on the size of the financial support to be provided by Riyadh and Doha. However, it echoes a similar move by Qatar to bankroll Syria's public sector. His visit comes few weeks after the U.S. made a surprise announcement on lifting sanctions on Syria's Islamist-led government which overthrew former leader Bashar al-Assad in December. U.S. President Donald Trump made the decision during his recent visit to the Middle East and said it was at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, whose country was a main advocate for the lifting of sanctions. The European Union also recently lifted economic sanctions on Syria. Bin Farhan referred to his country's role in helping to lift economic sanctions on Syria, saying that Saudi Arabia would continue to be one of the main backers to Syria in its path for reconstruction and economic recovery. He said he was being accompanied with a high-level economic delegation from the kingdom to "hold talks [with the Syrian side] to bolster aspects of cooperation in various fields". Several visits would then follow in the coming days by Saudi businessmen to Syria to discuss investments in energy, agriculture, infrastructure and other sectors, he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
