• 2023 elections: Atiku takes presidential campaign to US
• Former Enugu SSG allegedly kidnapped
• UK licenses 91 Nigerian doctors in 15 days
• Insecurity: Terrorists don’t reveal time, place, date of attack – Shehu Sani
• Women can help Tinubu realize his presidential ambitions – Betta Edu

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss:

2023 elections: Atiku takes presidential campaign to US

Atiku Abubakar, presidential contender for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 Nigerian elections, has landed in the United States of America.

Former vice president and his entourage are in Washington, D.C. for political consultations and discussions.

Atiku and the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, travelled together to the United States.

Emeka Ihedioha, the former governor of Imo, and Raymond Dokpesi, a business magnate, are also integral members of the campaign team.

Ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki, House Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu, ex-lawmaker Dino Melaye, and Atiku’s Special Assistant Phrank Shuaibu, among others, met the visitors.

Atiku’s schedule includes a meeting with Nigerians in the diaspora and PDP members in North America.

He is also slated to meet with prominent Nigerian business executives and young professionals in the United States.

There were suspicions that the PDP presidential candidate could not come to the United States. In December 2018, weeks before the 2019 election, Atiku was in America.

The APC then criticized the trip through Festus Keyamo, its campaign spokesperson. Prior to elections, the Minister of State for Labor continues to serve in the same capacity.

Atiku is anticipated to return to Nigeria on Monday. On Tuesday, he will hold a rally in Ekiti; on Wednesday, the campaign train will travel to Ondo.

Former Enugu SSG allegedly kidnapped

Dr. Dan Shere, a former secretary for the Enugu State government, has been kidnapped.

On Thursday, numerous additional travelers were kidnapped along the Enugu-Ugwuogo Nike-Nsukka Road, according to reports.

Shere, a medical practitioner, worked for former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani.

According to a source, the Enugu lawmaker was traveling to Nsukka for a meeting when he and other travelers were ambushed by gunmen.

According to one of the survivors who released a video of the attack, there were approximately eight gunmen.

“They shot severally at our vehicle; one of us was hit by the bullets. But our driver managed to move on. We succeeded in taking the victim to the hospital,” he narrated while thanking God for saving him and four others from the same community.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that the kidnappers, who are said to be Fulani herdsmen, have increased their ransom demand on those they earlier picked on Sunday.

“They earlier demanded the sum of N2m on one of the victims but they have now increased it to N30m. They search the phones of the victims to know their status,” the source said.

Returning students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who were abducted on Sunday are also yet to be freed.

An enquiry sent to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Enugu State Police Command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe has not been returned as of the time of filing this report.

UK licenses 91 Nigerian doctors in 15 days

91 new Nigerian-trained physicians have received licenses from the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom.

Our source learned that the 91 doctors were accredited over a period of 15 days, from October 10 to October 25, 2022.

There are currently 10,387 doctors in the UK who had their medical education in Nigeria.

Among the 10,387 medical professionals, there are 1,273 specialists, 1,837 general practitioners, 2,318 doctors-in-training, and 5,210 associate specialists.

The Nigerian Medical Association had been protesting the brain drain that was plaguing the healthcare industry when the 91 doctors were accredited.

Other categories of health professionals are migrating in addition to doctors.

In the UK, 1,307 doctors who had received their training in Nigeria between January 1 and September 30 of 2022, according to statistics, as Nigeria continues to struggle with one of the worst cases of brain drain in its history.

However, the data does not include Nigerian doctors who earned their medical degrees from institutions outside of the nation.

While regretting the high rate of medical brain drain, the NMA stated that Nigeria may eventually import physicians.

Following India and Pakistan, Nigeria currently has the third-highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK.

When discussing the problem before, Dr. Victor Makanjuola, National President of the Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria, said, “In the last two years, over 500 consultants, in my judgment, have left the services of government institutions to practice abroad. The international standard for government hospitals is that they are all consultant-led organizations. In just two years, we have lost 500 people, and we have discovered that younger people are more inclined to depart.

“To sustain the system and be able to train the next generation of medical doctors and medical students, Nigeria needs to retain the older consultants who are in their 50s and getting close to retirement so that they can stay back and train the next generation of doctors and medical students.

“Otherwise, the disaster of brain drain would be doubled because we would lose the younger ones and the older ones at about the same time, and you would find a system without consultants. This would affect the standard of care and the quality of care given by hospitals.”

Insecurity: Terrorists don’t reveal time, place, date of attack – Shehu Sani

Shehu Sani, a former Kaduna central Senator, has reacted to the security threat in Abuja.

Sani said terrorists don’t reveal the date, place and time they would strike.

His comment is coming against the backdrop of security reports by the United States, United Kingdom, Canadian and Australian Embassies that there is an elevated risk of terror attacks in Nigeria’s capital city.

The warnings said attacks would be aimed at government buildings, places of worship, schools and other centres where large crowds gather.

Reacting, the former lawmaker observed the increased security presence in Abuja.

In a tweet, Sani urged Nigerians to be vigilant.

He tweeted: “Even though the FG dismissed the US security alert, I’ve noticed some increased security presence in the capital city. Terrorists don’t announce the date, place and time they will strike. We must just keep vigilance.”

Women can help Tinubu realize his presidential ambitions – Betta Edu

The APC national women’s leader, Dr Betta Edu has expressed belief that women in Nigeria, convinced of the pedigree and sagacity of the APC presidential candidate and his running mate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kasshim Shettima respectively, have the strength and population to deliver victory for him.

Speaking in Calabar, Edu who is a former national chairman of commissioners for health in Nigeria, said Cross River women and indeed all women in the country have resolved to mobilise and vote Tinubu and his running mate to victory.

Edu said the Party’s Women Presidential Campaign Council are poised to deliver and to ensure that they reach the nooks and crannies of the country to sensitise women, saying Tinubu has respect for the female gender.

According to her, the APC presidential candidate had proven in times past his strong belief in women’s capacity to galvanise and lead.

“There is therefore the need for all Nigerian women to go all out and support his candidacy.

The APC stalwart reinstated her confidence and that of other women in Asiwaju’s presidency to do more for the women folk having laid a good track record in the past for women.

Edu pledged that she will go in the company of other women to any length – across the sea and land to campaign for Tinubu and deliver the candidates of the party.

This, she said was further predicated on the promise by the presidential flagbearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to give more than 35% affirmative position for Nigerian women.