The governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, says that releasing the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from detention and insecurity in the South-East are two different issues.

Kanu has been in the detention of the Department of State Services (DSS) for about 5 years since his arrest from Kenya by the Nigerian government despite calls from different quarters for his release.

Some people who are calling for the release of the IPOB leader argue that it will reduce the level of insecurity in the South-East.

But during a media chat to celebrate his third anniversary on Monday, Governor Soludo who is among those that have been calling for Kanu’s release said, “The release of Nnamdi Kanu for me is different from the issue of security, I separate the two, I don’t link the two.

“Nnamdi Kanu for me is for us to have a conversation of a long-term future for the Igbos and that is a different conversation.

“For the criminals who are kidnappers, we have given them olive branch, come out, we will train you, we will empower you, we will rehabilitate you, if you don’t we take you out.”

Soludo said that his continued appeal for the release of the IPOB leader is to have him around so that he could be a part of a broader discussion to decide the future of the Igbo people.

However, the governor recalled that whilst he continued his appeal for Kanu’s release, “a whole lot of this Simon Ekpa and some of this his band of criminals took over and turned the things into a killing spree, just killing people with reckless abandon.”

Simon Ekpa, who claimed to have taken over as IPOB leader upon Kanu’s arrest, was arrested in Finland where he resides in November last year by the Finnish police for what it termed “public exhortation to an offence, committed with terrorist intent.”

Governor Soludo said that he has no idea what Ekpa is pursuing other than to “swindle people for money.”

This development comes amid heightened political tensions between the House of Assembly and Governor Fubara.

The Rivers State House of Assembly has served a notice of alleged misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu.

This development comes amid heightened political tensions between the House of Assembly and Governor Fubara.

The notice, obtained by ChannelsTV, reads, “In compliance with Section 188 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and other extant laws, we, the undersigned members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, hereby forward to you a Notice of Gross Misconduct by the Deputy Governor of Rivers State in the performance of the functions of her office.”

SaharaReporters earlier reported that despite Governor Fubara’s renewed effort to present the 2025 budget in line with Supreme Court directives, the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, adjourned its plenary indefinitely.

The decision was made during a plenary session held at the Assembly quarters in Port Harcourt on Friday.

The move came just 24 hours after Fubara wrote to the Assembly requesting a new date for the presentation of the 2025 appropriation bill.

In a personally signed letter dated March 13, Fubara proposed Wednesday or any other convenient date in March for the budget presentation.

He stated that this was the second notice sent to the lawmakers regarding the budget presentation, emphasising that his actions were in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment of February 28, which mandated the budget’s presentation to the Assembly.

In his letter, the governor reminded the Assembly of the events of March 12, when he and his entourage were locked out of the legislative complex despite prior notice of his visit.

He urged lawmakers to put the state’s interests above political differences.

“You may recall my failed visit to the Rivers State House of Assembly on Wednesday, 12th March 2025, for the presentation of the 2025 Rivers State Budget in compliance with the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” Fubara wrote.

Earlier, SaharaReporters detailed a dramatic scene at the Assembly complex on March 12, when Governor Fubara was locked out upon arrival.

Security personnel at the complex shut the gates as the governor’s convoy approached, citing a lack of official communication between him and the Assembly leadership.

However, Fubara maintained that he had formally informed Speaker Amaewhule of his visit through a letter and had also attempted to reach him by phone.

Meanwhile, the Secretary to the State Government, Tammy Danagogo, in a letter dated March 7, 2025, had requested a meeting with lawmakers on March 10 to discuss the re-presentation of the 2025 budget and initiate a peace dialogue.

The incident at the Assembly complex adds to growing political uncertainty in the state, as stakeholders await further developments.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu had urged leaders of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) to ensure that Governor Fubara complied with the Supreme Court ruling on the political crisis in the state.

Tinubu made the remarks during a recent closed-door meeting with PANDEF leaders at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

“I got your signal and I got your concerns, particularly concerning Rivers State. I have been on it for quite some time. I foresaw this crisis long before I stepped in. We reached an agreement—a written agreement—which both parties signed,” Tinubu said.

“It is sad we find ourselves in this situation today. This is a nation with a rule of law. I should not be the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria if there is no rule of law.”

“I have total confidence in our judiciary. Now, the Supreme Court has spoken—that is it. Please go back home and help him (Governor Fubara) to implement those recommendations within the shortest possible time,” he added.

The president also revealed that he had intervened in the crisis both privately and publicly, offering counsel to Fubara on the best way forward.

The crisis in Rivers State has deepened, pitting Governor Fubara against his estranged political godfather, Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The dispute stems from a power struggle between the governor and the State House of Assembly, which remains largely loyal to Wike.

Tensions escalated when the Assembly attempted to impeach Fubara late last year, prompting multiple interventions from the presidency.

Ijaw groups, who see Fubara as their representative, have warned against any move to unseat him, with some even threatening armed resistance, raising concerns about further instability in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Nigeria’s forward #9 Victor Osimhen gestures during a training session ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 quarter-final football match between Nigeria and Angola at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan on February 2, 2024. (Photo by Issouf SANOGO / AFP)

Super striker Victor Osimhen, Bruno Onyemaechi, Papa Daniel Mustapha, and Kayode Bankole were the first players to arrive in Nigeria’s camp for the crucial 2026 World Cup qualifier against Rwanda.

The players in a video post shared on the team’s social media handles were spotted at the Kigali International Airport in the Rwandan capital.

Coach Eric Chelle and some of the team’s officials welcomed the players for camping ahead of Friday’s clash.

“Early arrival of Super Eagles officials and four players—Victor Osimhen, Bruno Onyemaechi, Papa Daniel Mustapha, and Kayode Bankole,” the caption on the social media post shared early Monday read.

Osimhen, who is in fine form this season is expected to lead Nigeria’s line for the Rwandan game.

The Super Eagles are fourth in the five-team group with just three points from four games.

Chelle who will be in charge of his first game as the Super Eagles coach had listed 23 players for the match as well as another Group C World Cup qualifiers with Zimbabwe billed for Nigeria next Tuesday.

More players are expected to storm the team’s camp for the clash.

The Super Eagles are fourth in the five-team group with just three points from four games. They are yet to win a match and are four points behind leaders Rwanda, leaving them at the risk of missing out on the second World Cup in a row.

Having missed the last edition of the competition held in Qatar, Nigeria are under pressure to hoist the country’s flag in the US, Canada, and Mexico next year.

With talks about a coalition brewing ahead of the 2027 election, former Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign spokesman Kenneth Okonkwo says he will support a fresh southerner or northerner who is willing to vacate office after a four-year single tenure.

He hinged his decision on equity and fairness to both northern and southern regions of the country, in line with the unwritten rule of rotational presidency.

“Everybody should come together. It is something that can be discussed. Who is going to do four years is going to influence who I am going to support because I still believe in equity and justice,” Okonkwo said on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television.

The lawyer, who dumped the Labour Party in February 2025, said he is open to joining the coalescing coalition to trounce President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next poll.

Talks about a coalition have been gaining momentum of late and were heightened by the defection of former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

El-Rufai has been pictured with the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, amongst other power brokers in the opposition. Like El-Rufai, Okonkwo recently met with Atiku, saying Nigeria needs cooperation to defeat the ruling APC in the next poll.

Okonkwo described the APC government as incompetent, saying the opposition must put up a formidable front to wrest power from the incumbent in the next election.

He said, “My game plan is simple. If the opposition is serious about wresting power from this incompetent government, they must all come together and act like one because that was what APC did in 2013, and that was what helped them to wrest power in 2015.

“I believe in coalition. When I was leaving, I said I am open to discussions with every group to consolidate the opposition so that we can take out this government.”

‘Complex and Complicated’

The lawyer described the 2027 election as complicated and complex but said the coalition could discuss the modalities for victory in the poll.

Okonkwo said, “2027 is one of the most complicated and complex times in the political history of Nigeria because we have this gentleman’s agreement—eight years in the South, eight years in the North.

“Now, when an incumbent is not doing well, and in the middle of his tenure, it is a very difficult thing to change or to project what will happen.

“Would you say you want to get a fresh person from the South? The North will say that means he will do another eight years. They will be scared, and politicians are not very good at being trusted.

“Would you allow an incompetent government to continue just because you want to sacrifice the whole of Nigeria? Just because you want to leave an incumbent government to finish eight years?

“Would you say let it go to the North when it has just been four years in the South? The South would say you are shortchanging us. So, it is a very complicated thing.

“The best thing if politicians were to be trusted is to have a free, fair primary where every qualified person, whether South or North, would partake in it. And whoever would emerge would agree to do four years, whether from the South or the North.

“If he [the northerner] does four years, it would have been shared between North and South—four years each, and then it returns to the South.

“Then if a Southern person, a fresh person, wins, he will do only four years to complete the eight years. Then, it will go to the north, where it will spend eight years.

“So, if the north agrees that the person there now is not doing well but it is not yet our turn but we can do four years – if the person emerges from the free and fair elections because if you begin to regiment it and say he won’t do primary, then it will be a selective thing, not democratic.”