Compilations of top 10 key latest updates that you need to know this Thursday morning, 1st December, 2026
2026 outlook: Tinubu pledges strong economic rebound
President Bola Tinubu has declared that 2026 marks the beginning of a more robust phase of economic growth for Nigeria, pledging to drive down inflation further, strengthen foreign reserves and sustain the country’s GDP growth trajectory.
In his New Year message to Nigerians on Thursday, the President expressed confidence in the nation’s collective resolve, saying the new year would be a more prosperous one for the country, its citizens, and all who call Nigeria home.
Tinubu argued that during 2025, his administration sustained momentum on major reforms, achieved a fiscal reset and recorded steady economic progress.
Despite persistent global economic headwinds, he said, Nigeria recorded tangible and measurable gains, particularly in the economy.
“These achievements reaffirm our belief that the difficult but necessary reforms we embarked upon are moving us in the right direction with more concrete results on the horizon for the ordinary Nigerian,” he stated.
Panic as bandits attack police station in Ondo
Suspected bandits on Wednesday evening attacked a police station in the Ipele-Owo community in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The incident which occurred while Christians were preparing to go to church for crossover services threw the community into pandemonium, as officers at the station and residents ran for their lives.It was also gathered that the suspected criminals burned down the police station.
An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity narrated that the attackers, numbering about 20, stormed the community around 10 pm on Wednesday, shooting sporadically and forcing residents to flee their homes for safety.
It was a terrorist attack.
The attackers numbering about 20, came into the Ipele community in a commando style and began to shoot sporadically before attacking the Police Divisional Station in Ipele.
NNPC posts N502bn profit, cuts petrol below N800/litre
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited recorded a profit after tax of N502bn in November 2025, sustaining its profitability streak despite a decline in crude oil and condensate production during the month.
This came as the state-owned energy firm simultaneously joined an intensifying price war in the downstream sector by cutting the pump price of petrol below N800 per litre.
Figures from the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report for November 2025, released on Wednesday, showed that the national oil company generated N4.36tn in revenue during the month, reflecting a marginal increase compared with October.
The improved performance was attributed to stronger gas output, full pipeline availability, and steady domestic fuel supply, which helped offset challenges in crude oil production.
2027 Presidency: APC assures Tinubu’s return as Obi dump LP, joins ADC
The All Progressives Congress has reaffirmed its commitment to President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, assuring that victory is certain, even as former presidential candidate Peter Obi dumped the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress ahead of the next race.
Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State, declared his defection to the ADC on Wednesday at Nike Lake Resort in Enugu, calling on Nigerians and opposition groups to come together under a broad national coalition to “rescue Nigeria from poverty, disunity and democratic decline.”
Obi had joined other opposition leaders in July to present the ADC as a coalition platform to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 election.
Under the leadership of former Senate President David Mark as national chairman and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary, the ADC has been positioning itself as a major opposition party ready to take on the APC, Tinubu’s party, in the upcoming poll.
Ignore war sounds, prayer our only weapon, Fubara tells Rivers
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has expressed optimism that 2026 will usher in improved fortunes for Rivers State and its residents.
The governor assures that his administration is entering the new year with renewed strength and confidence, even as he urged people and residents of the state not to be troubled by the sounds of war they are hearing.
Fubara gave the assurance in his New Year message delivered shortly after the crossover service at the Government House Chapel of Everlasting Grace, Port Harcourt, on Thursday.
Reflecting on the past two years of his administration, the governor said the period had been challenging, but noted that his government is stepping into the new year with hope and faith.
While making a veiled reference to recent attacks on him by political opponents, the governor declared that his reliance is not on “the instruments of war,” but on prayer, stressing that those who place their trust in God would not be put to shame.“
He stated,
“I feel delighted this year. It wasn’t like when we stepped into 2024.
Neither was it on a very sad note when we stepped into 2025, which has just ended.
We are stepping into 2026 with strength. We are stepping into 2026 with hope.
Hijab-wearing TikTok creator faces backlash over controversial posts
A TikTok content creator known as Adeola, who uses the handle @niqobprintertondoyati, has sparked widespread online discussion across religious communities with videos that blend Islamic attire, personal business promotions and candid commentary.
Wearing a niqab—a face veil worn by some Muslim women—Adeola’s posts have been praised by some viewers for their authenticity.
While others have criticised them as disrespectful to Islamic norms, drawing reactions from both Muslim and Christian users online.
Most of her videos focus on promoting her printing business.
However, what has largely fuelled the controversy are clips perceived as “unconventional,” including those in which she appears in a niqab while engaging in humour, vulgar expressions and sexual talk that some viewers consider inconsistent with traditional expectations of modesty.
Many feared dead, scores injured in Switzerland’s New Year’s party fire
Several people have been killed and others injured after a fire broke out at a New Year’s party at an Alpine ski resort in southern Switzerland.
The spokesperson for the Valais police, Gaetan Lathion, confirmed the sad incident.
“This morning, January 1, 2026, a fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. at Le Constellation lounge bar in Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais.
“There are several injuries and several fatalities,” he said.
The police spokesman, however, did not give an exact figure for those killed and injured, or further details on the cause of the fire, in an area known for high-end holiday resorts.
He stated that a press conference will be held with police and the canton’s public prosecutor at around 10 a.m. (4 a.m. ET).
11,749 killed in Plateau within 4 years — Senate report
A Senate report has revealed that between 2001 and 2025, about 11,749 people were killed in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria, while 420 communities were attacked across 13 Local Government Areas.
Over 136 communities were reportedly abandoned by original residents and occupied by strangers.
The findings, contained in the Interim Report of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on National Security Summit (Zonal Public Hearing), were presented by Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central).
Stakeholders at the North Central Security Summit said the violence has displaced 25,528 households, destroyed over 35 churches, and led to the deaths of 33 pastors.
They described the attacks not merely as farmer-herder conflicts but as “systematic ethnic cleansing and territorial displacement aimed at erasing indigenous Plateau communities from their ancestral lands.
”Journey to rescue Nigeria begins now — Peter Obi”
He told me he was leaving the Labour Party, and I gave him my blessings. However, I told him I would remain in the Labour Party”
FORMER Anambra State governor and presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday formally joined the African Democratic Congress, ADC, saying he has been a member of the coalition from inception.
Obi declared that “2026 will begin a journey to rescue our country.”
Obi, who chose Enugu for the event, also joined the party with Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, who announced his resignation from his former party, APGA; Senators Victor Umeh and Tony Nwoye, hitherto members of the Labour Party.
Also, former Labour Party members of the House of Representatives, led by Victor Ogene and the YPP member representing Nnewi North/South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, Peter Uzokwe, officially joined the party with Obi.
Former governors of Imo State and former deputy speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; Achike Udenwa, Sen. Sam Egwu, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Sen. Gil Nnaji and the remaining member of Labour Party in Enugu State House of Assembly, Harrison Ogara, also crossed over to ADC with Obi.
Ekiti Guber: I’ll fight my omission from INEC’s list – PDP’s Oluyede vows
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election, Oluwole Oluyede, has vowed to fight his omission from the list of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the poll
Oluyede, who spoke on Wednesday at a press conference in his hometown in Ikere-Ekiti, said the national electoral body has no constitutional power to omit his name from the list of candidates for the election.
He explained that the electoral body was formally notified of the conduct of its governorship primary election and actively monitored the exercise, adding that the process complied with the electoral laws.
Yobe confirms arrest of suspect linked to Maiduguri bomb blast
A suspect, Ibrahim Mohammed, allegedly involved in the December 24 bomb blast at a Maiduguri mosque, has been arrested by a vigilante group in Damaturu, Yobe State.
Mohammed was, subsequently, handed over to troops of Sector 2, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), Joint Task Force North-East.
Brig.-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar (retd), Special Adviser on Security Matters to Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, disclosed this yesterday in Damaturu
NAN reports that the vigilante group is part of the state security system, funded by the state government and operationally coordinated by the military.
Abubakar said the suspect was arrested on December 29 after being allegedly assigned by insurgents to spy on troop and vigilante deployments and locations in Yobe.
He added that the suspect was profiled by troops and sister agencies before being transferred to the Theatre Command headquarters, OPHK, in Maiduguri, Borno.
