Presidential aide Daniel Bwala has said that his former principal and ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, may not have been destined to become President of Nigeria.

“There is my former principal who believes that he is going to win,” Bwala said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Monday, dismissing the chances of Atiku and other opposition coalition leaders such as Peter Obi and Rotimi Amaechi to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

“In all honesty, I have expressed my opinion that it may never have been destined by God to be a president in Nigeria because he has done everything he needs to do to be president and he did not win the presidency.

“[The year] 2023 was the biggest opportunity that my former principal Atiku Abubakar had. He will never have that kind of privilege again,” he said.

Notably, Bwala served as a spokesperson for Atiku’s presidential campaign during the 2023 general election but has since pledged loyalty to President Tinubu.

Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State has directed the chairmen of the 17 Local Government Councils to collaborate with traditional rulers to take proactive measures against the growing menace of drug abuse across the state.

Speaking in Damaturu on Tuesday while addressing the council chairmen and traditional leaders at a forum focused on strengthening the primary healthcare system, Governor Buni expressed deep concern over the rise of drug abuse, particularly in some northern states.

“We must act now and proactively, to save our youth and the future of the state from the dangers posed by drug abuse currently threatening many states,” he said.

The governor further ordered that the full force of the law be brought to bear on anyone found trafficking or consuming prohibited drugs and substances within the state.

He commended the Federal Government, development partners, and traditional rulers for their continued support of primary healthcare delivery in Yobe.

He said: “This administration is committed to healthcare delivery at all levels because a healthy population is indeed an essential asset for speedy socio-economic development.

“We therefore remain focused on making quality healthcare services accessible and affordable to our people across the state.”

He added: “The establishment of 142 functional primary healthcare centres, provision of equipment, drugs and recruitment and deployment of over 2,000 qualified healthcare personnel to various healthcare facilities have no doubt taken healthcare delivery in the state to greater heights.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima has affirmed Nigeria’s unwavering stance against nuclear weapons testing.

He made this known during a meeting at the Presidential Villa with a delegation from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation, CTBTO, led by its executive secretary, Dr Robert Floyd.

According to Shettima, Nigeria, like many other African nations, is grappling with numerous socio-economic challenges, including widespread poverty and the adverse impacts of climate change.

He stressed that Africa’s immediate priority is to confront these existential threats, not to engage in the pursuit of nuclear weapons capability.

“The outcome of any nuclear conflict is never a win-win situation; it is always the opposite. We are fighting poverty; we are fighting a war against the relationship between the economy and ecology in sub-Saharan Africa. We have no business dabbling in anything that has to do with nuclear weapons,” he said.

The Vice President also commended CTBTO for its broader civilian contributions, such as detecting tsunamis and seismic volcanic activity, and for supporting global ecological stability.