The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has announced that members may now decide for themselves whether to accept or donate the four main components of blood, based on personal conscience.

In a statement released Friday by the organisation’s World Headquarters in Warwick, New York, and published on its website, the group said: “The decision to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood is a matter of personal conscience.”

It further stated that “each Witness must decide whether or not to donate blood for the clearly expressed purpose of providing components or fractions for use by another person.”

The long-standing ban on whole-blood transfusions remains firmly in place. “The long-standing refusal of whole-blood transfusions on religious grounds, a core teaching based on the command to ‘abstain from blood’ (Acts 15:20), is unchanged,” the statement emphasised.

Paul Gillies, international spokesman at the World Headquarters, said: “Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God. We recognise that medical decisions involving blood components are a matter of conscience between each Witness and their God, Jehovah.”

The organisation described the change as a logical extension of earlier adjustments on blood fractions and the use of a person’s own blood during medical procedures. “Since the Bible does not comment on such decisions, they are a matter of individual conscience. That same reasoning has now been extended to the four main components of blood.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses stress that they value life and seek the best medical care available. They do not practise faith healing and work with doctors who can deliver effective treatment consistent with their beliefs. Local congregations will not interfere in these personal choices. “Congregations do not involve themselves in personal decisions that rest with the individual conscience. We will continue to respect and support the personal decisions of our fellow believers,” Gillies said.

The group, which claims more than nine million members in congregations across more than 200 lands, noted it is grateful for physicians who provide quality care while respecting members’ wishes regarding blood.

This latest clarification follows a March announcement that allowed individual Witnesses to decide whether their own blood could be removed, stored and returned during surgery or other medical procedures, while maintaining the prohibition on receiving blood from another person.

The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement on Thursday unveiled a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council comprising zonal and state coordinators, as well as directors for mobilisation, women affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other key areas ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The council, announced in a statement on Thursday, has the Director-General of the movement, John Ughulu, as Director-General of the campaign, while the National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, is also listed among the campaign leadership.

The structure has representatives from the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory, with state coordinators appointed for the 36 states.

The council also includes directors responsible for grassroots mobilisation, women affairs, contact and engagement, special duties, procurement, information technology, legal affairs, strategy and planning, security and intelligence, and administration.

The development comes as the movement intensifies preparations to mobilise support for the joint presidential ticket of the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, ahead of the 2027 election.

In a congratulatory message to the newly appointed council members, Sani explained that their selection was a call to duty and tasked them with taking the message of its principals to communities across the country.

She said, “Your selection is not merely an appointment; it is a call to duty, sacrifice, leadership and service to Nigeria. At this critical moment in our nation’s history, the responsibility before the Presidential Campaign Council is enormous.

“You have been entrusted with the task of taking the vision, message and aspirations of our principals directly to the Nigerian people from the cities to the grassroots, from the states to the local governments, and from the wards to every community across the federation.

“Your appointment is an honour, but more importantly, it is a responsibility. The journey has begun. The assignment is clear. The mission is Nigeria.”

Continuing, she highlighted that the Obi and Kwankwaso campaign would not be built around individuals seeking personal recognition, but around what it described as a broader national vision.

“The OK Movement is not built around individuals seeking personal recognition. It is a movement driven by a larger national vision: to mobilise Nigerians around the possibility of a better, more prosperous, united and functional Nigeria.

“We therefore expect every member of the Presidential Campaign Council to approach this assignment with discipline, loyalty, humility, courage and an unwavering commitment to the collective vision of the movement.

“The road ahead will require hard work. It will require strategic thinking, grassroots mobilisation, effective communication and, above all, the ability to work together as one formidable political family,” she stated.

The national secretary added that their immediate responsibility was to ensure that the message of its principals reached voters nationwide.

She said, “Our responsibility is to ensure that the message of our principals reaches every Nigerian and that the voice of the people is heard across the length and breadth of our nation.”

Among those appointed are Suleiman Abubakar as North-Central coordinator; Hashimu Dungurawa (North-West); Amadu Gwambe (North-East); Dr Adebayo Adefolaseye (South-West); Christopher Ighodaro (South-South); and El-Shaddai Ikeh (South-East).

The council also appointed state coordinators for each of the 36 states and the FCT.

Others appointed include Rev. Mike Agbon as Director, Inter-Ethnic Group in Northern Nigeria; Sabo Gashua (Grassroots Mobilisation); Glory Adayi (Women Affairs); Kabir Yahaya (Contact and Engagement); Abdumumini Tijjani (Mobilisation); Yusuf Mani (Special Duties); Peace Daful (Procurement); Prof Charles Nwekeaku (South Eastern Town Hall); and Sunmisola Adebayo (Information Technology).

Kingdom Okere was appointed Director of Legal Affairs; Abiodun Dabiri (Strategy and Planning); Richard Enemona, CSP (Rtd.), (Security and Intelligence); while Aisha Abdulrahaman was named Director of Administration.

Last month, the group reaffirmed that it would retain its independent structure rather than merge with another political organisation ahead of the 2027 elections, while backing Ughulu as its founder and Director-General.

The unveiling comes days after the movement condemned the reported disruption of Obi’s convoy during his visit to Benue State and called for an impartial investigation into the incident.

The OK Movement said its security personnel deliberately exercised restraint to prevent the situation from escalating into violence.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said Nigerians are now prepared to scrutinise claims made by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, ahead of the 2027 election.

Keyamo made the comment in a post on X on Thursday amid the ongoing controversy between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the financial records of his administration as governor.

The minister dismissed suggestions that the repeated attention on Obi amounted to an obsession with the former Anambra governor, saying the scrutiny was necessary to test the accuracy of his claims.

“I see some suggestions that everyone is ‘obsessed’ about Peter Obi because we are always talking about him. I am sorry, but they miss the point,” Keyamo wrote.

He alleged that Obi made false claims during the 2023 election campaign but was not subjected to sufficient scrutiny at the time.

“When someone lies per second, you also have to fact-check him per second. He got away with the lies in 2023, but this time Nigerians are ready to fact-check every claim of the ‘yes-daddy’ man,” the minister said.

Keyamo’s comments came as Obi and the Anambra State Government continue to trade claims over the former governor’s financial record.

The state government has said some loans contracted during Obi’s tenure remain outstanding and are still being serviced, while also challenging his claim that N2.13 billion was left in a First Bank account for the Oko and Umuchiana erosion project.

Obi had maintained that he left office without outstanding debts, unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or obligations to contractors for duly executed projects.

Keyamo said the volume of public discussion around Obi was directly connected to the claims he makes.

“Therefore, to put it simply, the amount of time we talk about Peter Obi is directly proportional to the amount of lies he tells,” he added.