Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Wednesday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has emerged as an early frontrunner in the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, after winning in six states in results released so far from the ongoing exercise. Atiku has recorded victories so far in Sokoto, Abia, Osun, Gombe, Ebonyi and Zamfara states, ahead of other contenders, former minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi and economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.

2. The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday declared former President Goodluck Jonathan eligible to participate in the 2027 presidential election. Delivering judgment in a suit filed by a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, the presiding judge, Justice Peter Lifu, held that Jonathan could contest the election.

3. The Federal Government has approved a 50 percent reduction in fares on all passenger train services operated by the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. The announcement was made by the Federal Ministry of Transportation in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Engr. Funsho Adebiyi.

4. A former Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential primaries, citing alleged irregularities and voter disenfranchisement. In a statement issued on X, after the exercise, Amaechi said he could not accept the results, insisting that the process did not meet the standards of fairness and transparency.

5. A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday held that the Independent National Electoral Commission possesses the power to issue a timetable for elections and alter it as it deems fit. Justice James Omotosho said the 2027 election timetable, issued by INEC, stating the timeframe within which political parties are to hold their primaries and the timeframe for the submission of membership registers of political parties, “is valid and legally issued.”

6. The Peoples Democratic Party, backed by the FCT Minister, Nyelsom Wike has adopted Senator Sandy Onor as its consensus Presidential candidate for the 2027 Presidential election. Senator Onor, who represented Cross River Central between 2019 and 2023, was the only aspirant who purchased the party’s nomination form to contest the Presidential election.

7. Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of three aspirants seeking the Presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress for the 2027 election, has announced that he would not participate in the next stage of the exercise over alleged irregularities. In a statement on Tuesday, Hayatu-Deen said reports of widespread vote rigging from different parts of the country had raised serious doubts about the credibility of the process.

8. The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday fixed July 6 for judgment in the forfeiture suit filed by the EFCC against 57 properties linked to the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. Judge Joyce Abdulmalik fixed the date after EFCC’s lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa, and counsel to Malami and other respondents, Adedayo Adedeji, adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the case.

9. The immediate past Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has joined the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and clinched the governorship ticket of the party. He emerged through a voice affirmation during a primary election held on Tuesday in Gombe.

10. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has re-arrested a suspected drug trafficker, Ibrahim Yusuf Lawal, who allegedly jumped bail and was falsely declared dead by his wife in an affidavit submitted to a Federal High Court in Benin, Edo State. The Edo State Commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, disclosed this on Tuesday, saying the suspect was brought before the Federal High Court in Benin on May 26, 2026, after operatives uncovered that he was alive despite claims of his death.