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NGF,Arewa Hail FG Over War On Terror, Boko Haram
The governors in the northern part of the country yesterday commended Federal Government’s efforts to check security challenges and pledged to end the spate of violence in the region.
The Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, announced this at the opening of the forum’s meeting in Kaduna.
Babangida said: “The Federal Government should be commended for its readiness to dialogue on security issues with various interest groups. ’’
He pleaded with the governors to find a means of getting a solution to end the crises and allow peace to reign in their states.
He said individuals and groups seeking to restore normalcy should be encouraged to do so.
“It is unfortunate that the situation has not abated; rather, it is worsening and attaining alarming dimensions with attendant negative implications for the economic growth and development of our nation; and indeed, our national image.
“We are passing through a very difficult phase in the history of our nation, a period that puts our patriotism, nationalism, sincerity and responsibility to test.
“This is the period that we have to demonstrate, individually and collectively, our abiding faith in our nation.
“When we must confront the common enemies of the nation, those who are sworn to destroying the spirit of nationhood through wanton destruction of lives and property,’’ he said.
Babangida also lauded the Federal Government’s initiative on promoting the Almajiri education system and advised the governors to domesticate the programme.
He enjoined his colleagues not to be distracted by political campaigns for 2015, telling them to put their faith in God and redeem their electoral pledges.
Babangida announced that the Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation, designed to accelerate development in the region, had collected N2.3 billion as donations and on investments.
He assured that the proceeds would be reinvested in social development projects to improve the living standards of the people.
The chairman commended member states and individuals that redeemed their pledges and appealed to defaulters to honour their promises in the interest of the region.
The meeting which would consider reports of the committees on education, agriculture and New Nigerian Newspapers, will culminate in the election of a new chairman for the forum, discuss the need to rejuvenate the Northern Nigeria Development Corporation and adopt the position paper of the secretaries to the states governments for action.
The governors of Kaduna, Sokoto, Borno, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Benue, Plateau and Niger attended the meeting, while those of Nasarawa, Kwara, Bauchi, Kano, Gombe, Kogi and Zamfara were represented by their deputies but Yobe, Jigawa and Taraba were absent.
Meanwhile, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has pledged to back President Goodluck Jonathan to put an end to the security challenges posed by “Boko Haram”.
A delegation of the Northern umbrella body led by former FCT Minister, Gen. Jeremiah Useni, said this at an interactive session with the President late Wednesday at the State House.
In an interview with the State House correspondents after the closed door meeting, Useni said they suggested some solutions to the President on the ways to curb the security challenges.
Useni said that ACF had already taken actions by setting up a committee on the issue and would make its report available to government in due course.
He said the body was in support of dialogue as a practical means of resolving the problem.
On the Forum’s reaction to the statement credited to former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari on 2015 general elections, Useni said that power belongs to God.
It will be recalled that Buhari, the Presidential candidate of CPC in 2011 general elections, had reportedly warned that the 2015 general elections would be a “fierce bloody battle’’ if the elections were not transparent.
Speaking in the same vein after the meeting, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said that Jonathan welcomed ACF and thanked the members for their support.
He said the President shared the optimism of the Forum and told members of the delegation that Government doors would remain open to them.
In attendance at the meeting were Vice President Namadi Sambo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen Anyim Pius Anyim, Ministers and Presidential aides.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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