Today I join others from across our game and call for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA President.
Infantino has debased the office that he promised to elevate. He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve.
He has lost the support of his senior staff, his closest advisers, the vast majority of people who devote their lives to this sport and even, it would seem, the FIFA Peace Prize winner.
It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now.
#Infantinout
https://t.co/j93k5MnlK2
Fellow Nigerians, and most importantly, the young Nigerians gathered here today, the heartbeat of our nation, and those following this programme across the length and breadth of our country, perhaps checking their phones to see whether I am trending yet, good morning.
Look at me. Look closely. I have spent the better part of my life fighting for democracy, justice and the progress of our beloved country. Time has given me experience, but it has not diminished my conviction.
The fire that inspired me as a young student activist still burns today because every day I see millions of young Nigerians denied opportunities that should have been theirs.
I stand before you today not merely as a former Vice President or an elder statesman, but as a lifelong democrat who has never stopped believing that Nigeria can become the great nation its people deserve.
When I was your age, I was actively involved in student politics. Like many young Nigerians of my generation, I believed that leadership was not about titles but about service, courage and the willingness to challenge injustice.
We did not have social media to amplify our voices. We organised. We debated. We mobilised. We marched. And sometimes, we ran from the police.
As the years passed, many of us joined countless other Nigerians—students, labour leaders, journalists, civil society organisations, pro-democracy activists and ordinary citizens in resisting military authoritarianism and demanding democratic governance. Many paid dearly for that struggle. Some lost their freedom. Some lost their livelihoods. Some paid the ultimate price with their lives.
By the grace of God, some of us survived to witness the return of democratic rule in 1999. I was privileged to serve as Vice President at that defining moment in our nation's history. Together with millions of Nigerians, we helped lay the foundation for the democratic Nigeria we all cherish today.
But, my dear young Nigerians, restoring democracy was only the beginning. Democracy is not merely about conducting elections.
Democracy must create opportunities. It must protect lives. It must reward enterprise. It must give every young Nigerian confidence that hard work, not connections, will determine success.
That is where our country has fallen short.
Successive administrations have failed to build consistently upon the democratic foundation that was laid.
Institutions have weakened. Public trust has diminished. Corruption has become entrenched.
Insecurity has spread into communities that once knew peace. The economy has become increasingly difficult for families and businesses alike, leaving millions of young Nigerians wondering whether their dreams still have a place in their own country.
That is why I accepted the responsibility of offering myself once again to serve our nation.
I am not seeking office for its privileges. I am seeking it because I believe Nigeria can still become the country we all know it is capable of becoming, a nation where leadership is accountable, institutions are strong, opportunities are abundant and every citizen, regardless of background, has a fair chance to succeed.
But I cannot achieve that vision alone.
No President, no matter how determined, can rebuild Nigeria without the active participation of its greatest asset—its young people.
That brings me to the central message of my address today:
The role of young Nigerians in building a new democratic Nigeria.
The current political establishment often looks at young Nigerians and sees a restless population to be managed, manipulated or mobilised only during elections.
I see something entirely different.
I see the greatest national asset Nigeria has ever produced.
I see innovators building world-class businesses from laptops and mobile phones. I see young farmers feeding communities despite enormous odds. I see creators, engineers, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, artisans and professionals proving every day that the Nigerian...
“We Were Happy When We Saw That a Man From Our Own Yoruba Land Became President. But What Has Happened? He Has K!lled Us With Hunger and Insecurity. Many Nigerians Are Homeless, Food Prices Are Sky-High, and We Can’t Even Afford Drinking Water. The Cost of Fuel and Transportation Has Become Unbearable. It Will Not Be Well With Anyone Who Sees the Truth and Refuses to Speak It. Look at Sanwo-Olu in Lagos, Busy Enjoying Himself While We’re Suffering. They Should Come and Arrest Me.” ~ Man Cries Out
IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS...
Ayodele Oke was accused in connection with the 2017 Ikoyi cash scandal involving $43.4 million.
The EFCC charged him, but the case was withdrawn and struck out in 2023.
Despite the controversy, Tinubu appointed him Nigeria's ambassador to France.
For those who didn’t know late Col. AA Ude and the reason why his mysterious death is so painful to us (Igbo Muslims)
Sheikh Col. AA Ude was a Hafizul Qur’an (He memorized the whole Qur’an).
He was a mastery of Arabic Language, he commands the Language perhaps better than the Arabs.
He was a seasoned intelligence military officer and one of the best in Nigeria today.
He was due for his promotion to the rank of Brigadier General next year (a rank no Igbo Muslim ever has attained in the Military).
He had numerous awards commending his rare intelligence and intellect in Military intelligence security (a rare breed).
Above all, he was a very calm, quiet, and composed individual and hardly raises his voice when he communicates! 😭
He was a Teacher of the Qur’an and a great mentor to most of us and Wallahi, it would take a generation to raise his kind again in our midst!
May Allah grant you pardon our dear sheikh and illuminate your grave! May you not be questioned for too long before you are admitted into Jannah!
We lost our hero!
PRESS STATEMENT
₦12.62 TRILLION DEBT SCANDAL: TINUBU HAS LOST CONTROL— ATIKU
Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has described the latest revelation that the Federal Government exceeded its 2024 borrowing limit by ₦4.79 trillion, pushing fresh borrowing to ₦12.62 trillion, as further proof that the Tinubu administration has completely lost control of the nation's finances.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Nigerians were promised that the painful removal of fuel subsidy, repeated tax hikes and other harsh economic measures would reduce borrowing and restore fiscal stability. Instead, the country is witnessing the exact opposite: endless borrowing, ballooning debt and unprecedented waste.
According to the Budget Office, the Federal Government borrowed 61.2 per cent above what was approved by the National Assembly. Worse still, an additional ₦3.19 trillion classified as "budget support" was obtained despite no such provision existing in the approved budget, with no clear disclosure of its source.
This is not an isolated incident. It fits into a disturbing pattern that has become the defining signature of the Tinubu administration: duplication, opacity and reckless fiscal management.
This is the same government that has been caught creating fake agencies, padding budgets with duplicated allocations, hiding trillions under the mysterious Service Wide Vote, allocating obscene sums for luxury SUVs while critical sectors gasp for survival, and now borrowing far beyond the limits approved by law.
What exactly is all this borrowing funding?
Certainly not education, where children continue to learn under deplorable conditions.
Certainly not healthcare, where hospitals remain underfunded.
Certainly not security, where innocent Nigerians are massacred while security agencies complain of inadequate funding.
Certainly not infrastructure, because the roads remain death traps and electricity has become an expensive luxury.
The tragedy is that Nigerians are being forced to service debts whose benefits they cannot see.
Even more troubling is the contradiction that defines this administration. Only days ago, it emerged that high crude oil prices have handed the Federal Government an estimated ₦7.98 trillion oil windfall, yet instead of reducing borrowing, the government has continued to pile debt upon debt. A government earning windfalls while borrowing recklessly is not suffering from lack of revenue; it is suffering from lack of discipline.
The Budget Office report further reveals that debt servicing alone consumed ₦12.36 trillion, exceeding the budget by more than 52 per cent. Nigeria is fast approaching the dangerous point where government exists primarily to borrow in order to repay previous borrowings.
This is not economic reform. It is fiscal vandalism.
No responsible government mortgages the future of unborn generations while simultaneously presiding over duplicated budgets, wasteful expenditures, opaque financial practices and an ever-expanding bureaucracy.
The question Nigerians must now ask is simple: where is all the money going?
When revenues increase, borrowing also increases. When taxes increase, borrowing still increases. When subsidy is removed, borrowing accelerates. When budgets are padded and duplicated, borrowing becomes the answer once again.
This is not governance. It is a debt addiction.
The ADC believes Nigeria deserves a government that lives within its means, eliminates waste, restores transparency, blocks leakages and channels public resources into productive investments rather than financing an endless cycle of borrowing.
The Nigerian people cannot continue paying today's taxes to service yesterday's loans while tomorrow's generations inherit only debt.
Signed:
Phrank Shaibu