A former presidential candidate, Pat Utomi, has disclosed that he has been engaged in a political fight with a chieftain of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Buba Galadima for the past 50 years but they are still friends.

Utomi made the disclosure in Abuja after NDC inaugurated the reconciliation panel to settle grievances and litigation from its congresses, convention and primaries ahead of 2027 elections.

The political economist assured that the party would reunite its aggrieved members before the general elections.

He said: “I feel humble and challenged by this assignment. I’m extremely privileged to be in the company I’m in. 

“Buba Galadima and I have been fighting for 50 years, and we are still very good friends. So it means that we can equally make other people become friends.

“It’s a privilege to be able to work with such people, which shows that it is possible for us to truly get this thing done for everybody to see the future.”

He insisted that the NDC is a political party for the future with its aim of engaging the youths.

“One of the things we have agreed on is that the NDC is a party of the future focused on the young people of this country. The median age of our country is 19.5 years,” he said.

The crisis in the NDC involves congresses, post-primary election disputes, among others.

To address the internal dissent ahead of the 2027 general elections, the party inaugurated the 23-member National Reconciliation Committee in Abuja on August 6, 2026.

The aim of the 23-member National Reconciliation Committee in Abuja is to unify the party.

The committee is chaired by Utomi with Galadima serving as co-chairman and they are tasked with mediating disputes and integrating aggrieved members before campaign deadlines.

Jessica Oji made history for Nigeria at the World U20 Championships, winning a landmark shot put gold medal in Eugene.

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The Nigerian produced a commanding performance in the women’s shot put to claim the title with a best throw of 18.08 metres, becoming the first Nigerian athlete to win a world championship gold in a field event at any level.

Oji opened her series with an impressive 18.05m before improving to 18.08m on her third attempt. She followed that with 17.95m, while her fourth effort was ruled a foul.

Her winning mark was enough to keep her at the summit of the standings, with Oji emerging as the only competitor to surpass the 18-metre barrier.

The historic victory represents a major milestone for Nigerian athletics and adds another significant achievement to the country’s growing reputation in global track and field.

Nigeria also advanced to the final of the mixed 4x100m relay after finishing second in their heat in 41.91 seconds.

Miracle Ezechukwu delivered one of the standout moments of the qualifying round, producing a spectacular anchor leg with a 10.05-second split.

The Nigerian dramatically reduced the deficit to Germany and came close to overtaking the United States in the closing stages.

Ezechukwu teamed up with Tejiri Godwin, Rosemary Nwankwo and Perfect Faye to secure Nigeria’s place in the final.

Precious Opinion also boosted Nigeria’s medal prospects by reaching the men’s triple jump final with a personal-best leap of 16.02m.

The mark, achieved with a legal wind reading of -0.9m/s, ranked fourth among the qualifiers and leaves Opinion within reach of a podium finish.

Jecinta Lawrence and Faith Ezechukwu were unable to advance to the women’s 400m final after exiting at the semifinal stage.

Lawrence clocked 54.86 seconds to finish seventh in her semifinal, while Ezechukwu recorded 54.68 seconds to place eighth.

Both had earlier secured automatic qualification from the opening round, with Lawrence running 53.97 seconds and Ezechukwu 54.38 seconds.

David Dominion Udoh’s men’s 400m campaign, meanwhile, ended in the opening round after he was disqualified for a lane infringement under Technical Rule 17.3.3.

With Oji already securing a historic gold, Nigeria will now turn its attention to the remaining finals in Eugene.