The organisers of the Miss Naija Beauty and Style Pageant have unveiled the 2026 edition with a commitment to promoting Nigerian culture, domestic tourism and leadership.

The Founder and Convener of the pageant, Samaila Ogwuche, disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja during the unveiling of the 2026 edition, themed “The Bold and The Beautiful.

Ogwuche said the theme is designed to inspire young Nigerian women to go beyond physical beauty by embracing leadership, resilience, intelligence and entrepreneurship.

According to him, the pageant has continued to produce women making meaningful contributions to the fashion industry and other sectors.

Ogwuche said culture would remain central to the 2026 edition, with contestants expected to showcase Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage through indigenous attire, languages and local cuisines.

He added that cooking would become a major aspect of the competition for the first time to promote Nigerian foods from different regions of the country.

“We encourage the young women to come in their cultural attire, speak their own languages and learn how to cook their local foods.

“That is why we are incorporating cooking this year. We want to work with seasoning brands across the country to promote local dishes from the North-West, North-Central, South-East and other regions,” he said.

The founder also said auditions would be held in major cities, including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Abuja, with Kaduna also being considered.

According to him, the nationwide auditions are part of efforts to encourage domestic tourism and promote greater appreciation of Nigeria’s cultural diversity.

Ogwuche said the pageant sought to project positive narratives about Nigeria while encouraging citizens to explore opportunities within the country.

He also urged young women to aspire to leadership positions across different professions and sectors.

According to him, although women now account for a significant proportion of students in higher institutions, they remain underrepresented in leadership positions.

“We have gone beyond encouraging women just to go to school, there are more women in school than men, but there are still more men in top positions.

“I want to encourage young women to step up and take leadership roles,” he said.

Explaining the theme, Adoyi said “The Bold and The Beautiful” celebrates women who combine beauty with courage, integrity, resilience and excellence.

He said the pageant aimed to inspire more women to excel in professions such as aviation, politics, finance, media and other fields traditionally dominated by men.

“If women are going to take charge, they have to be bold enough. If you want to rise above limitations, you must be willing to step forward,” he said.

Ogwuche said registration details for the 2026 edition would be announced in due course as preparations continued for nationwide auditions.

The All Progressives Congress has said the failure of opposition political parties to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission deadline for the submission of candidates for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections reflects what it described as their lack of preparedness for the polls.

In a statement issued via its X handle on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the ruling party said it successfully met the electoral commission’s July 11 deadline for uploading the names of its candidates despite having a larger number of contestants across elective positions.

“The All Progressives Congress is pleased to announce that it successfully met the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) deadline for the submission of names of its candidates for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“Our great Party satisfied this requirement despite the large number of Party candidates contesting on the Party’s platform for the various elective offices,” the statement read.

The APC noted that INEC subsequently extended the deadline to July 14 after opposition parties requested more time to complete the submission of their candidates.

According to the ruling party, while the electoral commission acted within its statutory powers in granting the extension, the development highlighted the opposition’s inability to effectively manage its internal processes.

“While INEC acted within its statutory powers and administrative discretion in extending the deadline for opposition parties to upload names of their candidates, it is noteworthy that the extension was necessitated by the stark failure of opposition parties to manage their internal processes to comply with INEC’s submission deadline despite having fewer candidates to manage compared to the APC,” it said.

The APC argued that the situation raised concerns about the operational capacity of opposition parties.

“This development provides yet another clear indication of the opposition’s chronic inherent weakness and raises legitimate questions about their operational capacity. Political parties that cannot efficiently conclude their own internal nomination processes cannot possibly be trusted by Nigerians to possess the competence, discipline, or readiness to govern our great nation or its subnational governments,” the statement stated.

It also accused opposition parties of contradicting their previous allegations against INEC.

“It is starkly ironical that the same opposition parties have repeatedly peddled false, malicious and unfounded tales that the APC controls and dictates INEC’s decisions. Yet, as they failed to meet the submission deadline, they shamelessly turned to the same INEC for respite, and were granted an extension.

“And the same APC that would have been the obvious beneficiary if INEC had stood firm on its original deadline, kept its distance, having met the deadline and completed its submission. Again, this underscores the oppositions’ hypocrisy, and true character as peddlers of fake news and merchants of blackmail,” the party said.

The APC said the successful upload of the particulars of the party’s presidential, vice-presidential, Senate and House of Representatives candidates demonstrated the APC’s organisational strength and commitment to due process.

“With the successful upload of particulars of all its Presidential, Vice Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal, APC has, again, demonstrated its leadership and superior organisational capacity, discipline, and solid commitment to due process,” the party said.

The APC urged party members and supporters to intensify mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“As we conclude this important phase of the electoral process, we call on all Party leaders, stakeholders, members, and supporters to turn their full attention to the task ahead.

“We must remain focused and continue to strengthen our structures at all levels, increase awareness of the massive achievements under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, deepen grassroots mobilisation, and prepare for a vigorous, issue-based campaign that will earn our great Party a renewed mandate in the 2027 general elections,” it added.

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on his 92nd birthday, describing him as a global icon and Nigeria’s literary star.

This was contained in a statement personally signed by the President on Sunday in Abuja.

Tinubu described Soyinka as an exceptional personality whose courage, intellect and lifelong advocacy for justice had illuminated humanity’s path.

“Exceptional individuals like Professor Soyinka do not come often in a generation, men who illuminate the paths for humanity to follow across diverse endeavours.

“They are not afraid to go against convention and do not let the man die in the face of oppression and injustice,” he said.

The president congratulated the playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, actor and irrepressible advocate of good governance on the milestone.

Tinubu recalled Soyinka’s historic emergence as the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.

He also highlighted Soyinka’s numerous international honours, including the Benson Medal, Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The president particularly recalled Soyinka’s decades-long struggle against military dictatorship and his role in the June 12 democratic struggle.

“I recall Professor Soyinka’s valiant struggle against military dictatorship for decades and his efforts in the June 12 struggle, for which we were both in the trenches.

“Today, I salute one of our nation’s living repositories of history, knowledge and courage. That he is with us is a gift we will always treasure,” Tinubu said.

He thanked Soyinka for his enduring faith in the Nigerian project and his wise counsel on national issues.

Tinubu said the literary icon’s works and activism had profoundly influenced generations of writers, scholars and activists globally.

“As he marks this birthday, I join the world in celebrating his profound influence on generations of writers, scholars and activists, as well as his sacrifices for our nation.

“I wish ‘Kongi’ many more years in excellent health,” the president said.