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Buhari, Cause Of Hardship, Division In Nigeria -Sule Lamido …As Ezekwesili Blasts President Over Police Protest …Buhari’s Media Aides Now Miyetti Allah’s Mouthpiece -HURIWA
Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, yesterday highlighted why Nigeria was experiencing so much hardship, division, and hatred under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential aspirant alleged that Buhari’s lack of compassion for the country was responsible for the hatred, hardship, and division.
Addressing journalists in Sokoto, Lamido insisted that Buhari had failed as a leader due to his lack of compassion for the people.
The former governor stressed that the living conditions of the people had worsened in the last three years because of poor governance.
He said, “Buhari is a leader that lacks compassion for Nigerians and that is why there is so much hardship, division, and hatred among Nigerians. We cannot achieve progress and development when leaders lack compassion for their fellow human beings.
“Every nation takes the character of its leader. If a leader is humane and compassionate, the masses will tow that path but if the leader lacks compassion, there will be hatred and violence among the people.”
He, however, pledged to rescue Nigeria from the present state of insecurity and violence.
“The first thing I will do if I become the president is to unite this country because at the moment, we are highly divided as a people. There is so much hatred, fighting and killing in the polity.
“I will restore our human essence and ensure stability of the country because, without peace, there could be no development,” he added.
Oby Ezekwesili, former Education Minister, has reacted to the alleged protest by some men of the Nigeria Police Force in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Recall that the police personnel barricaded the Command headquarters located on Maiduguri-Kano expressway, causing gridlock yesterday.
But a statement by the Force spokesman, Jimoh Moshood insisted that the police officers and men in the state did not protest.
Reacting to the protest, the co-convener of BringBackOurGirls, BBOG, advocacy group berated the Federal Government over its inability to meet up with its promise to reform the security sector in the country.
In a series of tweets, Ezekwesili wrote: “A greater embarrassment to the .@PoliceNG was the BRAZEN LIES told by its Spokesperson that the protesting policemen in Maiduguri, “simply visited the Borno State Police Command headquarters on enquiry over the delay of their allowance.”
Now you know why Citizens Distrust police.
“This Government promised Security Sector Reforms that could address these personnel issues.
“Those who know where the reforms are should please educate the rest of us.
“To see those policemen in Maiduguri in riotous act was the saddest image of institutional decay. Fit it.
“We cannot continue to have their officers feed fat on opaquely spent security resources while the ‘foot-soldiers’ wallow in near abject poverty.
“There are no bad police and soldiers. Only bad officers.
In responses, the Presidency last Monday summoned the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, over the reported protest embarked on by police personnel in Maiduguri, Borno State, last Monday.
The policemen were said to have protested over non-payment of their monthly salaries and allowances.
Our correspondent reports that the IGP was seen heading towards the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
A source at the Presidential Villa, who preferred to remain anonymous told newsmen that the IGP was in the villa to brief the Presidency on the police protest.
Also, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has come hard on the President Muhammadu Buhari presidency for “converting” the presidential media department to “the propaganda wing” of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Owners Association, stressing that the “ignominious role” of the presidential media office was “disheartening and amounts to a grave threat to national security.”
This was contained in a statement issued, yesterday, by the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, who accused the office of the Presidential Media Adviser of “coordinating the purported denial of the original interview granted to the Jos-based Correspondent of The Tide by the North-Central leader of Miyetti Allah Cattle Owners Association, Alhaji Danladi Ciroma, in which he admitted that the recent attacks in Barkin Ladi was a retaliatory strike for the purported theft of 300 cows by the local communities that witnessed the unleashing of bloody violence by armed Fulani herdsmen.
“This is a direct confrontation to the constitutional oath of office sworn to by the President not to allow his ethno-religious interests becloud the implementation of policies that promote and protect national interests.”
It called for “the immediate sack of the entire Presidential media crew of the Presidency for converting a public office to a private media machinery of suspected perpetrators of terror attacks against farming communities that are mostly Christians in the North-Central region of Nigeria”.
On the recent bail granted by the Federal High Court in Abuja to the immediate-past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), from the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS), HURIWA warned against serial disobedience of court bails granted Dasuki as committed by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, stressing that the unconstitutional tendencies are breeding anarchy and impunity on a larger scale.
The rights group called on, “the international community to demand that the Nigerian President abides by his constitutional obligations and order the release of this Nigerian citizen given that section 36(5) of the Constitution states that a suspect before the competent court of law is innocent in the eyes of the law until a contrary determination is reached by a competent court of law”.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two long trailers heading for Kano as it intensified efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer in Rivers State, a businesswoman linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and other suspects in coordinated operations across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states.
The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday.
According to the statement, the latest intelligence-led operation came barely one week after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of tramadol concealed in the false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.
Babafemi said, “Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through Benin Republic into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move One Million Six Hundred and Thirty (1,630,000) pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos.”
He added that one of the two trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor.
Babafemi said, “One of the two trucks already heading to Kano was tracked and located on 2nd July 2026 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver Jabir Kabiru.”
He further disclosed that another trailer was intercepted two days later on the same route.
“Two days later, 4th July, NDLEA operatives acting on processed intelligence successfully tracked and recovered the second trailer from the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano. A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the truck were evacuated and the 22-year-old driver Muhammed Nuhu arrested,” the statement read.
According to Babafemi, investigations established a link between the three intercepted consignments.
He said, “Investigations revealed that all three trucks and consignments intercepted on 21st June, 2nd July and 4th July belong to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria axis.”
The agency also intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Babafemi said, “Two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a combined weight of 4.70 kilograms have been intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The cargoes, which arrived the Lagos airport from Canada in cartons with ‘Odugwu’ boldly written on them, came aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24th June and 3rd July respectively.”
He said two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments, while another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was apprehended after arriving at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has denied claims that it has commenced registration for a purported ?50,000 National Support Allowance.
The ministry, in a public notice posted on its official X handle, yesterday, described messages, links and websites advertising the alleged programme as fraudulent.
It urged Nigerians to disregard such claims and verify information only through official government channels.
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has NOT commenced registration for any ?50,000 National Support Allowance,” the ministry said.
It added, “Disregard fraudulent messages, links and websites claiming otherwise. Verify any info only through official govt channels.”
The alert is in response to a circulating scam flyer that falsely claims the program is ongoing under President Bola Tinubu’s directives.
The fake advertisement, which includes text in Hausa and English, directs victims to a suspicious website (kluspz.com) for applications.
The ministry’s warning comes amid heightened concerns over digital fraud targeting vulnerable populations seeking social support.
Similar scams have previously surfaced around programs like N-Power, prompting questions from citizens in replies to the official post.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its preparedness for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, hinted at this while making his remarks at the commissioning of the Comrade Godwin Abumisi Pensioners Legacy House and Multipurpose Hall in Abuja.
Ajaero said it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
He advised workers and pensioners to get prepared for the ideological and economic battles that lie ahead.
According to the NLC president, “The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is one of the proud affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Therefore, your struggle is our struggle, and your welfare remains a priority for the organised labour movement.
“We are currently in the preparatory stages for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
“However, let me state unequivocally that it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
“Accordingly, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not only push for a new national minimum wage but will also demand the establishment of a national minimum pension. It is a historical injustice that men and women who devoted their youth, strength and productive years to the service of this nation should be condemned to live below the poverty line after retirement.”
Ajaero noted that the cost of living has risen astronomically as food, healthcare and transportation have become increasingly unaffordable.
“We cannot continue to allow our senior citizens to survive on pensions that have become poverty wages. Every retiree deserves to live with dignity after decades of faithful service to the nation,” he said.
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He said the completion of the project should serve as a clarion call to all workers and lovers of the masses.
“We must not only build physical structures but also build a strong movement capable of compelling government to honour its commitments,” he said.
Ajaero further stated: “We will continue to demand the immediate payment of all outstanding pension arrears and the implementation of a pension regime that guarantees every retiree a life of dignity and security.
“Together, we shall continue to fight until every Nigerian worker and pensioner receives the justice, respect and welfare they deserve.”
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