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Buhari, A Sectional Leader –Presidency

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The Presidency, has described as unfortunate and sad the comments credited to a former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari, that there will be bloodshed in 2015 if the general elections are rigged.

The Presidency also faulted the comments of Buhari on Boko Haram.

In a statement by presidential; spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, the Presidency said, “the attention of the Presidency has been drawn to unfortunate statements in the media made by former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) in which he allegedly predicted bloodshed in 2015 and labelled the Federal Government led by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as “the biggest Boko Haram”.

“But perhaps the most unfortunate part of the statement was the portion in which Buhari said that, ‘since the leaders now don’t listen to anybody but do whatever they wish, there is nothing the North can do.’

“We find it very sad that an elder statesman who once presided over the entirety of Nigeria can reduce himself to a regional leader who speaks for only a part of Nigeria. We now understand what his protégé and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Nasir El’Rufai, meant when he wrote in a public letter in October of 2010, telling Nigerians that Buhari remains “perpetually unelectable” and that Buhari’s “insensitivity to Nigeria’s diversity and his parochial focus are already well-known.” Who can know Buhari better than his own political associate?

“Come to think of it, as the CPC presidential candidate in the 2011 election, how many states in the Federation did he visit to campaign for votes? Buhari never bothered to campaign in the southern part of the country and consistently played up the North-South divide to the chagrin of patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians. As the results revealed, Nigerians will never vote for anyone who wants to divide the country. Is Buhari going to continue to be a sectional leader?

“The Federal Government led by President Jonathan is not Boko Haram. Boko Haram means Western Education is sin. That being the case, one wonders how a government that devoted the largest sectoral allocation in the 2012 budget to education could be said to be Boko Haram. Between 1983, when Buhari forcefully seized power from the democratically elected administration of President Shehu Usman Shagari, and 2012, no other administration has committed the same quantum of resources as the Jonathan administration to education in the part of Nigeria that has witnessed the most Boko Haram-related insecurity.

“Only on April 10, 2012, President Jonathan commissioned the first of 400 Federal Government Model Almajiri Schools, equipped with modern facilities such as a language laboratory, Qur’an recitation hall, classrooms and dormitories as well as a clinic, vocational workshop, dining hall and quarters for the Mallams. As Nigerians read this, more of such schools have been completed.

“We now challenge Major General Buhari (rtd) to tell Nigerians what he has done, whether in his capacity as the head of a military junta or in his private capacity, to bring education to vulnerable children. If he cannot live up to this challenge, perhaps he has to reassess who really is Boko Haram.

“Buhari claims that the Federal Government does not listen. Such an accusation ought not to emanate from a man overthrown by his own hand- picked colleagues in the military for refusing to listen to advice and behaving as if he had a monopoly of knowledge.

“It is on record that the Federal Government led by President Jonathan is a listening administration, hence, its decision to pursue all means of resolving the Boko Haram insurgency including through dialogue.

“When Buhari says that ‘if what happens in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, ‘the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood’, we hereby state that it is Buhari himself who does not listen. He has obviously refused to listen to the Nigerian people, the European Union, the Commonwealth Monitoring Group, the African Union and a multitude of independent electoral monitors who testified that the 2011 elections were free and fair and ‘the best elections since Nigeria returned to civil rule.’

“Indeed, such a reaction from Buhari is not totally unexpected since he has become a serial election loser who has never taken his past election defeats graciously even when such elections were generally acknowledged to be free and fair.

“Still on the issue of Boko Haram, we wonder what locus a man whose party’s Secretary General, Buba Galadima, told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in December, 2010, that the Federal Government is underestimating the support base of Boko Haram, has to accuse a government that has been threatened on camera by the leaders of Boko Haram of itself being Boko Haram?

“Major General Buhari (rtd) also boasts of his knowledge of the Petroleum Industry because of his time as Federal Commissioner for Petroleum. We wonder why he did not boast of the infamous scandal that occurred in that ministry where under his watch billions of Naira (in the 1970s) were reported stolen, a matter which led to the setting up of the Justice Ayo Irikefe panel.

“Finally, we wish to make it known to Buhari that given his reference to ‘dogs and baboons’, perhaps his best course of action would be to travel to the zoo of his imagination because President Goodluck Jonathan was elected by human beings to preside over human beings and it is human beings who will determine what happens in Nigeria at any material time not ‘dogs and baboons’.”

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Senate Holds Emergency Meeting ‘Morrow

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The Senate has announced that it will hold an emergency plenary sitting tomorrow (Tuesday).

The announcement was made yesterday in a statement signed by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, who said all senators have been requested to attend.

“The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has directed the reconvening of plenary for an emergency sitting on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026,” the statement read.

The session is scheduled to commence at 12 noon.

This comes just days after the Senate passed the amendment bill on February 4, but voted down Clause 60(3), which would have required presiding officers to electronically transmit results from polling units directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing portal in real time.

The rejected clause aimed to make the process mandatory.

The lawmaker replaced it with the current discretionary “transfer” of results, which allows electronic transmission only after votes are counted and publicly announced at polling units.

Civil society groups and opposition figures in the country have condemned the Senate’s decision, labelling it a setback for Nigeria’s democratic progress.

Senate President Akpabio has, however, defended the Senate’s actions, insisting during a public event that the Senate did not reject electronic transmission and vowing not to be intimidated.

Tomorrow’s emergency sitting could see the Senate reconsider the rejected amendment amid public outcry and potential legal challenges from figures such as lawyer Femi Falana, with possible implications for Nigeria’s democratic processes and the balance between incumbency protections and verifiable voting technology.

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Probe Senate Over Electoral Act, Tax Laws, SERAP Tells CCB

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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to investigate members of the Senate and other public officers over alleged irregularities in the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and the Tax Reform Laws.

According to a statement issued yesterday by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation is seeking a prompt, thorough, and effective probe into claims that some senators removed provisions on electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill during plenary, despite a majority having voted for their inclusion and without any debate on the proposed removal.

“According to our information, certain members of the Senate allegedly removed the provisions on electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill during plenary after the majority of the senators had voted for the inclusion of the provisions and without any debate on the proposed removal of the said provisions,” SERAP said.

The organisation also requested the CCB to investigate alterations in the Tax Reform Bills, which reportedly led to discrepancies between the harmonised versions passed by the National Assembly and the copies signed into law and gazetted by the Federal Government.

“Similarly, the National Assembly recently alleged that there are unlawful alterations and some material differences between the tax reform bills passed by the legislative body and the tax reform laws gazetted by the Federal Government.

“A Sokoto lawmaker, Abdussamad Dasuki, raised the issue under a matter of privilege, drawing the attention of the House to the alleged discrepancies between the harmonised versions of the tax reform bills passed by both chambers of the National Assembly and the copies gazetted by the Federal Government.

“The lawmakers said the alterations contained in the gazetted copies did not receive legislative approval. These alleged unlawful alterations raise questions over the legality and legitimacy of both the law-making processes and the versions of the tax laws circulated by the Federal Ministry of Information,” the petition added.

The Senate had denied removing the provisions on electronic transmission of election results, saying it only removed the term “real time” from the sentence, citing judicial concerns.

Similarly, the National Assembly had initiated investigations into the alleged discrepancies in the tax bill and released a “certified” version of the Acts to address the contradictions. The law took effect on January 1, 2026.

SERAP said the petition is submitted under paragraphs 1 and 9 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers contained in the Fifth Schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and sections 5 and 13 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.

It alleged that the processes leading to the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and the signing of the Tax Reform Laws were marked by alterations to bill provisions without debate and due process of law, as well as alterations to the Tax Reform Bill without the approval of the National Assembly.

“The petition raises issues of conflict of interest, abuse of office, non-disclosure of interests, lack of due process, and erosion of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in the exercise of legislative power.

“There are also allegations that certain amendments may have been removed or introduced to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and the Tax Reform Laws to serve private or political interests rather than the public interest,” the petition reads.

Citing the Constitution, SERAP noted that public officers must not place themselves in situations where personal interests conflict with official duties.

Specifically, the organisation asked the Bureau to formally register the petition and “promptly, thoroughly, transparently, and effectively investigate the conduct of the lawmakers and officers of the executive branch allegedly involved;

“Examine whether inducements, benefits, or promises were offered or received in connection with those acts;

“Examine whether the alleged cumulative conduct of lawmakers and officers of the executive branch amounted to abuse of legislative power, conflict of interest, and breach of due process, contrary to the Code of Conduct for Public Officers;

“Refer any substantiated violations to the Code of Conduct Tribunal; and

“Take all necessary steps to uphold the principle that public office is a public trust.”

The petition requested that the Bureau consider the complaint within seven days, warning that legal action could follow if there is no response.

Dated February 7, 2026, the petition was signed by Oluwadare and sent to the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Mr Abdullahi Bello.

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Red Cross Unveils New Generation Of Humanitarians In PH

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The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), Rivers State Branch, has expanded its humanitarian footprint in Rivers State with the formal inauguration of student volunteers at Command Children School (CCS), Bori Camp, Port Harcourt, marking a significant step in promoting humanitarian values among young Nigerians.

The ceremony, which took place at the school premises, officially admitted CCS students into the Nigerian Red Cross Society.

The Rivers State Branch Representative of the Red Cross Society, Mr Noah Idegbesor, disclosed this in his opening remarks at the occasion.

In a symbolic display, the students marched to the flag stand alongside members of the high table and the Branch Representative, where the Red Cross flag was hoisted, signifying the school’s full induction into the Nigerian Red Cross Society.

With the flag raised, CCS was formally declared a member institution of the NRCS.

As part of the inauguration, a certificate of affiliation was presented to the school by the Nigerian Red Cross Society and received on behalf of the school by the Head Teacher, Mrs Onwuzuruigbo Taiwo.

Speaking as Chairman of the occasion, the Acting Director, Nigerian Army 6 Division Education Services, Port Harcourt, Lt. Col. A. Sadiq, described the event as very unique and significant.

Represented by Staff Sergeant Arisa Eberechi, the Director assured of the support of his team in ensuring success of the endeavour.

Also speaking,  the Chairman of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the school, Mr Zuru Daniel, said the establishment of the Red Cross unit in the school was a welcome development and assured of the support of the body to ensure its sustainability.

The event also featured a parade by the volunteers, freewill donations from dignitaries and parents in attendance, underscoring community support for the humanitarian initiative.

Speaking earlier, the Head Teacher, Mrs Onwuzuruigbo Taiwo, described the inauguration as an emotional and fulfilling moment.

“It was awesome. We thought it would not be possible, but today it was glorious,” she said.

Taiwo explained that the school’s participation in the Red Cross Society began when management decided to introduce clubs and societies.

“I told my assistant that I wanted the Red Cross to be one of them. The Red Cross signifies many things; it is service to humanity,” she added.

Also, the Assistant Head Teacher, Mrs Bawo Agbana, expressed appreciation to dignitaries, officials of the Nigerian Red Cross Society and parents for their support and presence.

The Assistant Head Teacher (Administration) described the programme as overwhelming and exciting, expressing gratitude to God for its success.

She said the school’s decision to embrace the Red Cross Society was driven by the need to instill values of love, kindness and service in children from an early age.

“Our impression of the Red Cross is being good to people, showing love and kindness. As the children grow, we want to build the spirit of humanity in them so they can show love and care in school, their communities and Nigeria at large,” she said, adding that early training was crucial given current challenges in the country.

She also delivered the closing remark, after which a photo session was held with the newly inaugurated student volunteers.

Other dignitaries at the occasion include Chairman, Python Officers’ Mess, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, Chief Dan Harrison, and the Sualla 1 of Adagbabiri Kingdom, Chief Col. K. Agbana (Rtd.),

Speaking in an interview at the event, 10-year-old primary five pupil, Precious Ote, said she volunteered to join the Red Cross Society because of her desire to help and care for people.

Similarly, 11-year-old Eno Marvellous of Primary Four expressed excitement at becoming a member of the Red Cross Society, noting that her hope is “to save” lives.

The inauguration highlights ongoing efforts by the Nigerian Red Cross Society to nurture a culture of volunteerism, compassion and humanitarian service among schoolchildren in Port Harcourt and beyond.

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