Archive March 5, 2026

US President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted he should have a role in picking Iran’s next supreme leader after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose son he said he found unacceptable.

READ ALSO: ‘Too Late’ For Iran To Seek Talks, Says Trump

“Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy,” Trump told Axios in an interview, drawing a comparison to Venezuela, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez has cooperated with him under threat of violence after the United States ousted her boss, Nicolas Maduro.

Trump told the news outlet that the United States would likely return to war within five years without a favourable leader in Iran.

“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

It was unclear in what way Trump would be able to take a role in the country’s selection of a new supreme leader, a decision made by an assembly of senior Shiite Muslim clerics mostly staunchly opposed to the United States.

Trump was raised a Presbyterian.

But his remarks imply a willingness to work with someone from within Iran rather than seek to topple the government, which has been a sworn enemy of the United States since the 1979 revolution toppled the pro-Western shah.

The late Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, has proposed that he return as a transitional figure before Iran drafts a new constitution as a secular democracy.

Pahlavi earlier Thursday said that any new supreme leader within Iran would be illegitimate.

Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran since 1989 with hardline policies that included repression at home and confrontation with neighboring countries, was killed Saturday in an Israeli strike as Israel and the United States opened war.

His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is considered one of the contenders to succeed his father, who was only the second supreme leader after revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

In Venezuela, Trump ordered a deadly January 3 attack in which US forces snatched Maduro, a longtime US nemesis.

Rather than backing the opposition long championed by the United States, Trump has said he has been pleased by Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s vice president but has cooperated on key US demands, notably on benefiting oil companies.

She is doing so under Trump’s threat of violence if she does not do what he wants, particularly on access to natural resources.

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Aisha Yesufu, has criticised the administration of Bola Tinubu over what she described as poor governance, claiming that Nigeria as a country is a “glitch” where “nothing is going on”.

Yesufu, who was a guest on Politics Today on Channels Television on Thursday, lamented the poor economic and security situation in the country.

“Right now, Nigeria as a whole is a glitch. There is nothing working, whether economically or in terms of security; we don’t have any of that,” Yesufu said on the political programme.

“I just explained to you: people are being taken away, people are being killed, and terrorists are coming out to show us their faces. Nigeria is a glitch on its own; it’s on a standstill. There’s no governance and nothing is going on,” she added.



ADC Online Registration

When Yesufu, who is the chairman of the ADC Online Registration Sub-Committee, was asked about the initial challenges encountered after the party launched its online registration portal, she explained that the party’s website never experienced any glitch but was undergoing periodic updates to improve the process.

READ ALSO: Shettima Mocks ADC Over ‘Fake’ Digital Membership Registration

“There is no website that you don’t continue improving on. It never had any problem. Even this glitch you are talking about, there was no glitch.

“Was there ever a time that you went to register and you didn’t register? Was there ever a time that you went to register and the page was down, or the website was down, or the app was down? There was nothing,” she said.

She also said that many Nigerians had already registered with the opposition party since the commencement of the online registration exercise, though she declined to give the exact number.

She added that the ADC was overwhelmed by the level of support shown by Nigerians so far.

2027 Elections

Asked if her party could match the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections, Yesufu responded in the affirmative, saying the APC had little to offer.

She acknowledged that the ruling party has over 30 governors but insisted that the ADC has the support of Nigerians.

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday announced the successful conclusion of a historic settlement agreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria, ENI, and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAEL).

READ ALSO: [UPDATED] Tinubu Suspends Cashless Payment System At Federal Airports

The agreement was reached at a meeting in the President’s office attended by the Chief Executive Officer of Eni, Claudio Descalzi; Chief Operating Officer of Eni, Guido Brusco; Head of Sub-Saharan Region, Mario Bello; Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Exploration, Fabrizio Bolondi; and Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen.

This brought to a close the long-standing dispute over Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245, paving the way for the development of one of Nigeria’s most significant deepwater resources, according to a statement by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga.

It said that the agreement, signed in Abuja, marked the resolution of a dispute spanning more than 15 years and restores clarity and stability to an asset widely recognised as one of Nigeria’s most commercially promising deepwater blocks.

“With the dispute now settled, the pathway is clear for Final Investment Decision on the Zabazaba–Etan development, a project capable of adding approximately 150,000 barrels per day to Nigeria’s production capacity and strengthening the country’s long-term energy outlook,” the statement partly read.

President Tinubu described the agreement as a strategic milestone in Nigeria’s economic reform agenda, reaffirming the administration’s commitment to resolving legacy disputes, restoring investor confidence, and ensuring that Nigeria’s natural resources deliver sustainable value to the Nigerian people.

“This resolution sends a clear signal to global investors that Nigeria is prepared to address legacy issues transparently, uphold the rule of law, and create a stable environment for long-term capital,” the President was quoted as saying.

Tinubu’s presidential adviser on energy, Olu Arowolo-Verheijen, said the settlement also represented a “significant improvement on the 2011 Resolution Agreement, reflecting the policy framework established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the administration’s broader fiscal and governance reforms in the energy sector”.

“The revised terms strike a balanced outcome providing investors with the clarity and predictability required to proceed with major deepwater investments, while ensuring stronger value accretion and safeguards for the Federation”, Arowolo-Verheijen added.

The statement further revealed that the agreement is part of a wider programme of reforms undertaken since 2023 to restore Nigeria’s competitiveness in global energy markets.

These reforms, anchored in the Petroleum Industry Act and supported by targeted executive actions, it said, had already contributed to renewed investor interest and significant capital inflows into Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

“By resolving the OPL 245 dispute, the Federal Government has removed one of the most prominent legacy risks in Nigeria’s upstream sector and reinforced its commitment to predictable regulation, transparent governance, and commercially viable investment frameworks”, Arowolo-Verjeihen further said.

President Tinubu commended all institutions and stakeholders who contributed to achieving the settlement, including the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), NNPC Limited, and the leadership of ENI.