The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed confidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s official visit to the United Kingdom will boost Nigeria’s economic outlook and pave the way for a £746 million port financing deal.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the party’s spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, said the trip is expected to deepen economic diplomacy and drive key infrastructure projects, especially within the maritime sector.

The APC noted that the visit will facilitate and formalise a £746 million financing arrangement involving UK Export Finance, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and the Federal Ministry of Finance, aimed at rehabilitating major seaports across the country.

According to the party, the agreement will prioritise the upgrade of two major facilities, the Lagos Port Complex (Apapa Quays) and the Tin Can Island Port Complex, with the goal of modernising port infrastructure and enhancing trade operations.

It described the initiative as a major milestone in positioning Nigeria as a leading maritime hub in West Africa, while also stimulating economic growth.

The party added that the visit highlights the administration’s resolve to strengthen international partnerships in line with its broader economic reform agenda.

“The visit provides an important platform for high-level engagements with government officials, investors, and development partners on issues critical to Nigeria’s growth, including infrastructure development, energy transition, technology transfer, education, security collaboration, and opportunities for Nigerian businesses in global markets,” the statement read.

The Lagos APC further emphasised that the United Kingdom remains a longstanding economic partner and a vital ally in Nigeria’s development efforts.

It expressed optimism that the outcomes of the visit would attract increased foreign direct investment, enhance bilateral trade ties, and generate employment opportunities for citizens.

The party also pointed to President Tinubu’s history of leveraging international partnerships for development during his time as governor of Lagos State, noting that his current diplomatic engagements reflect that experience.

It urged Nigerians to see the visit as part of a broader nation-building strategy anchored on economic diplomacy, stressing that sustained global engagement is key to long-term prosperity.

The APC reaffirmed its belief that the visit will further strengthen Nigeria’s economic prospects and elevate its standing on the global stage.

Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Germany and former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has fired back at African Democratic Congress chieftain Dele Momodu over comments in which the latter likened President Bola Tinubu’s administration to the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha.

In a statement posted on his X handle on Monday, Fani-Kayode described Momodu’s remarks as evidence of “a degenerating and worrisome level of cognitive dissonance,” saying his fellow commentator “sounded drained, tired and broken” during the interview.

Momodu had on Sunday, during an appearance on Channels Television, described Tinubu as a potential dictator whose administration some had already compared unfavourably to Abacha’s government.

“From what happened since 1999 when he became governor to 2007 when he left as governor of Lagos State, and then hijacked Lagos, since then till today, it was very clear to me that I didn’t need a prophet to tell me that we are dealing with a potential dictator if given the presidential ticket. Today, I don’t know how anybody would even describe this. Some people have even described this moment as being worse than that of Abacha government,” Momodu said.

Fani-Kayode, while expressing personal affection for Momodu, was withering in his assessment of the interview, suggesting his colleague needed a break from political commentary.

“I love Dele and God knows I have immense respect for him but he sounded drained, tired and broken and spoke little sense yesterday in his interview with Seun Okinbaloye of Channels TV,” Fani-Kayode wrote, adding: “May I humbly suggest to him to try and take a break from politics and political commentary for a while, get his breath back and attempt to overhaul his intellectual engine?”

He accused Momodu of being disrespectful not only to the president but to the vice president, ministers, senators, and newly appointed ambassadors, many of whom he said possessed far greater governance experience than the ADC chieftain.

Turning his attention to the ADC itself, Fani-Kayode launched a blistering attack on the opposition party, dismissing it as wholly unprepared for the rigours of Nigerian politics.

“The ADC cannot even be described as a sinking ship but rather as a badly patched up inflatable plastic life boat that has not even managed to find its bearing or leave the harbour. It has no engine, no sails, no oars, no captain, no crew, no navigational equipment, no muscle, no firepower, no war chest, no destination,” he said.

He described the party’s membership as “vacuous, shallow, intellectual frauds and political renegades who lack foresight and who have no direction,” attributing the mass movement of political leaders to the APC not only to the performance of the president and vice president but to the public’s perception of the ADC as “a collection of disingenuous, desperate and recycled political losers.”

Despite the sharp criticism, Fani-Kayode urged Momodu to abandon the ADC and join the ruling party, comparing his presence in the opposition to “a gentle, beautiful, well bred, well fed and well manicured flamingo trapped in a sea of ugly, cruel, loud, angry, starving, cackling and relentless crows and vultures.

“I appeal to my brother Dele: leave the ranks of the forces of darkness and join us. You are far too good for the company you keep,” he concluded.

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Wednesday branded himself a “die-hard democrat,” urging Nigerian politicians across party lines to embrace true democratic principles and submit to the rule of law—no matter the personal or political cost.

Speaking at an interfaith breakfast hosted for All Progressives Congress (APC) executives, National Working Committee (NWC) members, and the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) at the State House, Tinubu highlighted his decades-long democratic credentials, from detention and exile to co-founding the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).

“We are all democrats and we all subscribed to this democracy voluntarily, willingly, and we’ve been at it selflessly in the last 26 years. Some of us have the bruises from it, struggling for it. We went to detention, we protested… We went on exile and all of that. We formed NADECO. We got here,” Tinubu told the gathering.

He framed his commitment as a lifelong philosophy tied to national unity. “I followed the leadership destiny that God has done and chosen for me, there’s no doubt about that. I’m a die-hard democrat, and I follow that belief wholeheartedly, committedly, to a united country; Nigeria. That principle and that philosophy will live and die with me” he stated.

Addressing IPAC National Chairman Yusuf Dantalle directly, Tinubu insisted party affiliation remains voluntary, even under pressure.

“We are all democrats, voluntarily, party alliances, party ideologies or no ideology, party boat, party platform, in whichever form, it’s voluntary. Be persecuted for it. So no threat from any democrat,” he said.

The remarks come amid backlash over the Electoral Act amendments, which Tinubu signed into law on February 18 following overwhelming National Assembly approval.

Critics from opposition parties and civil society highlight provisions like optional electronic result transmission, new party membership register rules, direct or consensus primaries (abolishing delegate voting), a 21-day pre-primary submission deadline for digital registers, and limits on court interventions in electoral processes.

Tinubu defended the rule of law as democracy’s core. “The Rule of Law must prevail in any democracy. Yes, Rule of Law. Majority will have their say and their way, and minority will have their say and might not have their way. That is the sweetness, the essence of democracy,” he asserted.

He called for intellectual debate over confrontation: “Argue it, debate it intellectually, interrogate each other, honestly and sincerely, but we are committed to the same thing, peace and stability of the country, and we adhere to it.”

On signing the Act, Tinubu addressed IPAC concerns head-on. “That I signed the Electoral Act, I have no choice. I don’t want to throw the country into turmoil of argument… there is an overwhelming majority by the National Assembly that passed the law. If I had serious question or reservation about it, I would have raised it. But I have none, I submitted myself to the principle of Rule of Law, democracy. I signed, the rest is history. We’ll meet at the polls,” he stated flatly.

Recalling his opposition days, he added restraint was key—except against military rule. “I’m a registered voter. I’m on the same platform with you, or not, I’m going to stick to my platform. When it was against me years past, I toed the line.”

Earlier, Dantalle hailed Tinubu as a “listening father and an inclusive president” but flagged Act flaws.

He noted IPAC’s quiet work with INEC to avert 2023 election chaos and appealed for tweaks: easing the 21-day membership register deadline with National Identification Numbers (to avoid disenfranchisement), restoring indirect primaries for smaller parties, and reinstating government subventions for party administration.

“We are not saying give us money to go and spend, no, but prudently what we can use to take care of administration of our political parties. You are a product of multi-party democracy, Your Excellency,” Dantalle pleaded.

He also sought federal help to relocate IPAC from its rented space, citing buried crises to aid governance.

Tinubu closed on a firm yet conciliatory note. “The game is sweet only when you are winning. It’s alright we must accommodate one another, we must help one another. We must strengthen the platform. But democracy is it? Yes, there must be peace, stability and commitment to Rule of Law,” he observed.