Daily briefing: Intense pressure mounts as APC nomination process kicks off, Gbajabiamila faces close call over Desmond Elliot controversy, and more leading news.

As the All Progressives Congress prepares to kick off its primaries, intense lobbying and behind-the-scenes negotiations have reached a fever pitch, with aspirants and power blocs fiercely competing for tickets ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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Former House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila has revealed that he once came close to losing his position as Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu due to Desmond Elliot's alleged involvement in the Lagos State House of Assembly speakership crisis.

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A controversy has erupted over an EFCC operation at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, where a medical doctor claims that operatives assaulted hospital staff and forcibly took him into a van, sparking chaos and allegations of tear gas, threats, and injuries.

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Fierce lobbying and tension have marked the beginning of the APC primaries, with party leaders loyal to President Bola Tinubu working to avert internal crisis as protests, collapsed consensus talks, and accusations of imposition plague the process in several states, including Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Oyo, Yobe, and Abia.

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Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has disclosed that he almost lost his position last year due to alleged involvement of actor-turned-politician Desmond Elliot in the Lagos State House of Assembly speakership crisis involving Mudashiru Obasa, with President Tinubu confronting him over intelligence reports linking Elliot to efforts to destabilise the assembly.

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Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has announced the birth of twin princes with his wife, Olori Mariam Ajibola, expressing gratitude to God and noting that both mother and children are in good health.

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A Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Prof. Eyo Ekpe, has accused EFCC operatives of harassing and assaulting him and hospital staff while attempting to arrest him over an alleged fake medical report, which hospital management has confirmed was indeed fake.

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Charles Nnamdi Emesim, a 53-year-old Nigerian, has been sentenced to 115 months in a U.S. prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering linked to romance and other internet scams that defrauded victims of over $700,000.

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African Democratic Congress chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo has stated that former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi may struggle to win support across the South-East ahead of the 2027 elections, citing the "Obi or nothing" slogan associated with some of his supporters as "an abomination in Igbo land".