Politics
Insecurity: Group Wants NASS To Revisit Passed Bill
The Vigilance Group of Nigeria (VGN), has urged the leadership of the National Assembly to revisit the bill that seeks to give legal backing to the activities of the group in tackling insecurity in the country.
The group made the appeal when it paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Idris Wase (APC-Plateau) at the National Assembly complex yesterday.
The spokesman of the group, Cpt. Umar Bakori (rtd), told the Deputy Speaker that VGN had been in existence for the past 20 years, with its operations covering all the 774 local governments in the country.
Although Bakori said that the group had about two million members, he, however, added that only 17,000 were very active and had been trained by security agencies, particularly the police and the army.
He said that VGN had been providing grassroots support for the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Customs Service, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other security agencies.
Bakori said that the group had initiated a bill to give necessary legal backing to its activities, stressing that although it was passed by Eighth National Assembly, it had, however, has not got presidential assent.
“When you talk about community policing or state police, there is no organisation that is better positioned to carry out that responsibility than VGN.
“We have been doing community policing for over 20 years with our personal resources. Even though a network service provider, Glo, provided us with lines for easy communication, most members cannot afford the minimum balance of N600.
“So we came up with a bill so that this organisation will be recognised by law, with very little funding. Since we are volunteers, we have been doing our work even without being paid.
“If the government gives us more support, it will go a long way in addressing the spate of insecurity in the country,” he said.
Bakori said that the vigilantes, who were permanently stationed in each community, understood the language, customs and tradition of the people of the community, unlike policemen and other security personnel who could be transferred to anywhere in the country.
Responding, the Deputy Speaker commended members of the group for their selfless service over the years in supporting the already overstretched police force.
He urged them to continue to follow legitimate means of getting legal backing for the activities of the organisation.
Wase said that members of the VGN were already part of the Civilian Joint Task Force in the North-East zone of the country.
The Deputy Speaker promised to contact the Clerk of the National Assembly to find out why the bill was not assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari then.
He promised to do everything possible to ensure presidential assent to the bill to serve as a legal framework for the operations of the organisation.
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
