Odita Sunday 
SATURDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2026
WORLD • UKRAINE
Witkoff Meets Zelensky in Norway, Then Putin in St Petersburg as US Pushes for Ceasefire
US envoy Steve Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway on Tuesday, after which Zelensky said the sides agreed on proposals to end the war, including security guarantees for Kyiv, and confirmed that US intelligence sharing had resumed. On Wednesday Witkoff flew to St Petersburg to meet Vladimir Putin and urged him to consider resuming three-way talks. The Kremlin said Putin would review the proposals; Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ruled out political concessions.
Earlier this month Kyiv proposed a 60-day ceasefire to allow elections, which Moscow rejected, while Trump announced an energy ceasefire that Ukraine said it would observe. Trump has said Ukraine “has to want to make a deal” and called for it to elect a new president, which Zelensky said is for Ukrainians alone to decide.
WORLD • UNITED STATES
Midterms: Trump Orders Refinery Push as Money Floods Races; 435 House Seats at Stake
President Trump announced he would use the Defense Production Act and $150 million to expand US gasoline and diesel refining capacity, as fuel costs linked to the Iran war weigh on campaigns; Democrats are attacking Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley in North Carolina over rising fuel prices. Elon Musk has added $76 million to his America PAC this month, bringing his cycle total to more than $442 million, according to the Washington Examiner’s live blog.
Trump is rallying for Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, where the seat has become more competitive, and for Mike Rogers in Michigan. The live blog also reports that Trump said he believes he has the right to run again in 2028; we have not confirmed the remark elsewhere. On 3 November, 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships are on the ballot.
The Iran war that began on 28 February continues to shake energy markets. Brent crude rose to about $110 a barrel this week as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia escalated and the Strait of Hormuz stayed closed to normal traffic.
AFRICA • HEALTH
Ebola: Origin of Nigeria’s Patient Disputed Between Africa CDC and Uganda
Africa CDC director Jean Kaseya said Nigeria’s Ebola patient was born in Uganda and called for full disclosure of her travel history. Uganda’s health authorities said she is Nigerian and had travelled to eastern DR Congo for business; Uganda’s health director-general said where she was exposed is still under investigation. Kenya has reported nine cases since 6 October. No vaccine exists for the Bundibugyo strain, though trials of candidate vaccines, including one made in Egypt, have started.
NIGERIA • HEALTH
Ebola: Patient Shows “Significant Improvement”; 46 Contacts Barred from Flying for 21 Days
Nigeria’s only confirmed Ebola patient, the woman who arrived in Abuja from Uganda on 3 October, is showing “significant improvement” in laboratory results, Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said, and could recover fully, though “we cannot take anything for granted.” Earlier reports quoting the NCDC said her condition had worsened. The government says there is so far no evidence of community spread.
Forty-six contacts are under restriction: 44 who met her at a hospital after her symptoms appeared, and two domestic staff. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo ordered a 21-day no-fly list for those named individuals only, not a general travel ban. High-risk contacts are quarantined at a designated facility, and airports have heightened screening, including temperature checks and digital health declarations. The NCDC has activated its incident management system, and the National Economic Council urged states to strengthen preparedness.
In the South-East, Abia, Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi have stepped up surveillance with no case confirmed; Anambra monitored 40 persons of interest, cleared 33, and has seven under follow-up, all stable. Virologist Oyewale Tomori urged complete and consistent official information and warned about capacity if two or three contacts test positive. Pate said Ebola “is not an airborne disease.”
NIGERIA • LABOUR & ECONOMY
NLC, TUC Threaten Strike After Talks Deadlock; NEC Approves 90-Day Cost-of-Living Plan
The NLC and TUC threatened possible nationwide action over petrol prices, minimum wage renegotiation, tax relief and unpaid workers’ benefits after talks with the Federal Government at the Ministry of Labour in Abuja ended in deadlock on Thursday. The National Economic Council approved a 90-day plan to ease the cost of living; details were not in the reports we saw.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso held a roundtable with Nigerian and Chinese business leaders in Beijing on cross-border payments and investment. Deutsche Bank sees further naira gains but flags government borrowing risk. Cross River Governor Bassey Otu presented a ₦987.8 billion 2027 budget, with ₦708 billion for capital projects. Laolu Akande, a former presidential aide, said subsidy-removal money is in the hands of Tinubu and governors, but Nigerians are not benefiting.
NIGERIA • SECURITY & JUSTICE
Troops Foil Terrorist Movement, Rescue Four Kidnap Victims; Yobe Man Sentenced to Hang
Troops foiled a terrorist movement in the North-West and rescued four kidnap victims. A court in Yobe sentenced a man to death by hanging for slitting his wife’s neck. Bandits killed passengers returning from Sokoto, and the DSS arrested a 23-year-old woman in Nasarawa over arms trafficking.
A court fixed a date for the trial of suspects in the kidnap of 20 NYSC corps members, and another rejected Nasir El-Rufai’s bid to screen an ICPC CCTV video. Ogun shut schools after more than 100 pupils fell sick from gas emissions.
WATCH THIS WEEK
Sat 24 Oct: new French protests called; unions have not endorsed them.
Sat 24 Oct: Trump to vote early in Florida.
26 Oct: NDC National Campaign Council inauguration.
27 Oct: Dangote Refinery IPO deadline.
3 Nov: US midterm elections.
NIGERIA • POLITICS & SOCIETY
Obasanjo Faults Tinubu’s Reforms; Sowore Warns Opposition Coalitions Will Die
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo faulted President Tinubu’s reforms; a headline quotes him as saying they made “every Nigerian poor by 300%,” but we have not seen the full remarks. Omoyele Sowore warned that any “rainbow coalition” in Rivers, Lagos and Osun “will die.” NiDCOM says diaspora remittances are near $1 billion a month. AdvoKC Foundation urged the House Speaker to prioritise the National Health Act (Amendment) Bill, warning delays could affect primary healthcare funding in the 2027 Appropriation.
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