News
Declare Emergency On Roads, Senate Tells FG
The Senate, yesterday, asked the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on federal roads across the country.
The lawmakers made the request during yesterday’s plenary at the National Assembly in Abuja.
The Senator representing Cross River South Senatorial District in the Senate, Gershom Bassey, raised a motion on the deplorable state of federal roads in Nigeria.
Bassey also informed the Senate that the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has failed to remit the five per cent user charge of fuel pump price to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), as stipulated in the Act for the rehabilitation of federal roads.
The Senate ordered its committees on Petroleum and FERMA to investigate the alleged non-remittance of funds by PPPRA for the rehabilitation of roads in the country.
The Senate’s plea comes eight months after Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari signed an Executive Order allowing the private sector to build Federal Government roads in the country.
The Executive Order 007 2019, signed by Buhari, is on Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme.
The order was to allow private companies to construct major roads across the country and be paid in the form of tax credit.
However, the Chairman, Governing Board of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Mr. Tunde Lemo, yesterday said that Nigeria loses about N1trillion annually due to loss in man-hour as a result of bad roads and traffic delay.
Lemo disclosed this at an end of the year stakeholders’ meeting at the International Conference Centre in Abuja with the theme “Road Maintenance and Reforms: Legal and Institutional Framework”.
He said the numbers are staggering and called for emergency action in the road sector.
According to him, if the budget cannot achieve this because of other conflicting needs, it is imperative that the development and management of the road sector must be funded from alternative sources.
He said, “It is becoming clearer that legislation of a more enabling environment is required for an effective and productive management of the road for meaningful national socio-economic growth.
“It is a well-known fact that 80 per cent of travels in Nigeria are carried out on the roads including heavy duty. You then understand why the roads go bad now and again. In other climes the rail shoulders the bulk of it. 90 per cent of these are done on federal roads, thus the federal roads constitute the spine of the Nigerian road network to effectively evaluate the productive management of the Nigerian road therefore, one needs to evaluate the effective management of the federal roads. With only about 10, 000 km of federal roads in good state, and about 13, 300 and 11, 600 in fair and bad states, respectively.
“In any square kilometre area in Nigeria only 210 metres of roads are available for travel, irrespective of the conditions of the road. For smooth comfortable and timely travels, however, the density falls to 0.01km per square kilometre meaning only 10 meters of travel in every one-kilometre area.
“Clearly, this is unacceptable and needs to change. Funding for Nigerian roads is less than one per cent of the GDP, against three per cent GDP minimum spending threshold. The World Bank recommends minimum threshold of three per cent. In Nigeria we barely achieve a third of that,” he said.
He said effective roads can be guaranteed through a careful blend of many factors which include requisite capacity, capabilities, governance, accountability and controlled political influences as well as sound fiscal and funding policies.
These factors are critical to the optimal management of national road network for most effective impact on social economic growth, he said.
“It is the responsibility of road agencies to develop operational procedures of monitoring national road networks for needful interventions as at when due. Such road agencies retain the mandate to create and manage requisite administrative, operational and financial structures of the effective discharge of these activities.
“An effective road management practice is that which executes most productively, these activities within the constraints of the society of which it operates. Whereas the more advanced economies have developed reliable methodologies for constructing, monitoring and intervening on their road networks for optimal serviceability, the developing economies of the world, on the other hand, struggle to achieve these for a number of reasons. It is in this context that this stakeholders’ forum is convened in a bid to collectively reflect on Nigeria’s position vis-à-vis FERMA’s productivity, possibilities and promises,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Ekiti State, Governor Kayode Fayemi has said shortage of funds forced the federal government to stop states from rehabilitating Federal roads.
Fayemi gave the clarification in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, at a colloquium tagged: ‘Building a Sustainable Economy Through Values Orientation and Innovative Thinking’, marking the first year of his second term in office.
The governor said he would have loved to fix some of the federal roads in the state but for the stringent warning from the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, that there won’t be refund on such interventions.
Speaking particularly about the collapsed Ureje bridge along Afe Babalola University during a flooding a couple of weeks ago, Fayemi said: “I would have loved to do some of these roads but the Federal Government said leave our roads alone.
“They made it clear that if any state rehabilitates any road, there won’t be refunds and this is because there is no money.
“This year, Federal Government budgeted around N250billion for roads. If the government is to complete Lagos-Ibadan, Kaduna-Abuja and Kaduna-Kano expressways, it will cost a sum of N500billion out of about 36,000 kilometres of roads waiting for rehabilitation”, he said.
However, Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, Olubunmi Adetumbi and former minister of sports, Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi, have advised the country to redistribute its wealth and foster entrepreneurial education, to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor citizens.
They said, though very large numbers of the youths are educated, but disclosed that the education curriculum must be critically rejigged to ensure that the right education are given to graduates.
Adetumbi, who was one of the discussants, said there must be need for the states of federation to be innovative and think of how to increase the internally generated revenues through public-private partnership to build and sustain the economy under a corrupt free atmosphere.
“In order to build a sustainable economy, there must be a partnership between the government and the people. The major problem of our economy is poor environment and growing businesses, which Ekiti didn’t have in good numbers and once business environment is bad, then the economy will continue to be repressed.
“Ekiti has a poverty rate of 57 percent .This should be a concern to us all. Our unemployment rate is 14 percent, second highest in the South-West. Ekiti has no reason to be poor or has high unemployment rate, because of good atmospheric and soil conditions it has.
“Governor Kayode Fayemi has started with youth entrepreneurship and we have to build on that to turn around the economy of this state and it has to be accompanied with value reorientation among our youths.
“Value reorientation is very important. But the greatest influencers now are politicians and that is why we as leaders must be careful and be good leaders. We must be careful with the ways we live our lives, because we are the greatest influencers in the society”.
Adetumbi advised Ekiti to key into the concept of digitised land registry, describing the initiative as best way to generate revenues for any state.
The former minister of sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, regretted that the wealth of Nigerians are concentrated in the hands of few people, which he said signposted the level of inequality in the system.
“Even President Muhammadu Buhari while declaring open the Nigeria’s Economic Council in Abuja recently emerged the first President in the country to bring the issue of inequality to the front burner of national discourse.
“The president said the wealth of the nation is concentrated in the hands of a few from five states of the federation. In inequality, Nigeria was ranked 157, making it the most unequalled country and the poverty capital of the world. The GDP does not show the reality of our state of economy.
“The issue now is, when the rich people are flying around in private jets, which isn’t wrong; let us help the poor to be able to travel to their villages on good roads.
“We are talking of education and our youths are going to schools, we must also ruminate on the kind of education that will make our youths relevant, which I believe is by embracing entrepreneurship”, he said.
Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja
City Crime
Ministry Raises Concern Over Rising Teenage Pregnancies, Begins Adolescent Sensitisation Campaign
The Department of Public Health in the Rivers State Ministry of Health has raised concern over the increasing cases of teenage pregnancies in society as it intensifies efforts to educate adolescents across the state.
Programme Manager for Adolescent Health and Development in the department, Mrs. Tammy Briggs, expressed the concern during a sensitisation programme held at Government Girls Secondary School Rumueme in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Briggs explained that the campaign was designed to educate adolescents on the dangers of teenage pregnancy and other health-related issues affecting young people.
According to her, teenage pregnancy is currently on the rise, making it necessary for the ministry to step up awareness programmes among students.
“This is something that is on the rise for now. We have observed that there are many cases of teenage pregnancies, so we are here to sensitise them on ways to prevent it entirely,” she said.
She disclosed that the sensitisation campaign is being carried out in selected schools across four local government areas of the state, namely Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area and Eleme Local Government Area.
Briggs noted that the programme focuses on several key issues affecting adolescents, including sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, emotional health and proper nutrition.
She added that the outreach programme also featured tuberculosis screening for students as well as the distribution of sanitary pads and mathematical sets to support their health and academic development.
The programme manager commended the management of Government Girls Secondary School Rumueme for their cooperation and support in hosting the sensitisation exercise. She also advised the students to avoid behaviours that could jeopardise their future.
Speaking during the session, Dr. Nwadike Chinonso urged the students to make informed decisions about their lives and remain focused on their education.
He cautioned them against engaging in early sexual activities, stressing that abstinence remains one of the most effective ways to prevent sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies.
Some of the students who participated in the programme expressed appreciation to the team for the awareness campaign and pledged to apply the knowledge gained to make responsible life choices.
Disturbing allegations of extortion, intimidation and the smuggling of prohibited items have unsettled the Kwale Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC) in Delta State, prompting calls for urgent intervention by the national authorities of the Nigeria Correctional Service amid fears of potential security breaches within the facility.
The development was disclosed by a senior officer at the Delta State custodial facility, who expressed concern over what was described as entrenched irregularities capable of undermining discipline and operational standards at the centre.
According to the source, detailed findings compiled between December 2025 and January 2026 highlighted patterns of misconduct and warned of possible security consequences should the allegations remain unchecked.
At the centre of the claims is a powerful corrections official serving as Officer in Charge of the Kwale facility, accused of presiding over persistent financial extortion, high-handedness and the victimisation of inmates under his supervision.
The document further indicated that the alleged practices may have originated during the tenure of a former General Provost, reportedly with the collaboration of another senior custodial official within the system.
Intelligence details suggested that inmates were allegedly compelled to contribute funds for projects and items considered outside the statutory framework of inmate welfare, raising questions about compliance with established correctional guidelines.
Among the financial demands reportedly imposed were ¦ 300,000 for the repair of a Hilux vehicle, ¦ 600,000 for the purchase of a freezer and ¦ 750,000 for a generator allegedly designated for the Officer in Charge’s residence.
The report also alleged that inmates were required to make payments before being conveyed to court, while Awaiting Trial Persons in Cells One to Nine were directed to raise ¦ 30,000 per cell, with Convict Cells One to Three, including a designated VIP cell, similarly mandated to pay ¦ 30,000 monthly.
Observers noted that if substantiated, such practices would amount to grave breaches of professional ethics and custodial administration standards, eroding principles of fairness, transparency and inmate welfare within correctional institutions.
Beyond the financial allegations, the intelligence brief raised concerns over the purported possession of unauthorised communication devices, alleging that a serving General Provost had two Android phones while another influential inmate was also reportedly found with a mobile device.
The document further alleged that prohibited items, including alcoholic beverages, Indian hemp and other hard substances, may have been smuggled into the custodial yard under the guise of routine supervision duties, with security sources warning that the cumulative effect of extortion, intimidation and contraband trafficking has heightened tension within the facility.
In view of the gravity of the allegations, they called for an immediate and discreet investigation by the minister of Interior for immediate action to safe the life of inmates.
The administrative review of implicated officers, even as officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service had yet to issue an official statement, with stakeholders insisting that a transparent probe and decisive action are essential to restoring confidence and safeguarding institutional integrity at the Kwale Medium Security Custodial Centre.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the government of President Bola Tinubu at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over the government’s alleged failure to withdraw “unlawful mass phone-tapping rules” known as the Lawful Interception of Communications Regulations, 2019.
LICR 2019 is a regulation that authorises telecom licensees to install technology for security agencies to monitor communications, including voice, data, text, email, and browsing, for national security and to combat crime.
SERAP, in a statement signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, yesterday, said the suit followed allegations by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that the phone conversation of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was intercepted.
El-Rufai reportedly claimed, “The NSA’s call was tapped. They do that to our calls too, and we heard him saying they should arrest me.”
In the suit numbered ECW/CCJ/APP/11/26, filed last Friday at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, SERAP is seeking “a declaration that the failure of the government to withdraw the Interception of Communications Regulations is unlawful and a violation of Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.”
The organisation is also asking the court to declare that the government’s failure to withdraw the regulations “constitutes an official endorsement of unlawful mass phone-tapping rules, as the Regulations are patently unlawful, and violate the rule of law, democratic principles, and the right to privacy.”
It is further seeking “an order directing and compelling the Nigerian government to immediately withdraw the Interception of Communications Regulations, and to commence a legislative process to ensure that any interception regulations are in conformity with Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.”
The suit, filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Oluwakemi Oni, Valentina Adegoke and Maryam Mumuni, argued that “the Regulations establish a sweeping mass phone-tapping regime that violates Nigerians’ constitutionally and internationally guaranteed human rights, including to privacy and freedom of expression.”
“Where powers affecting fundamental human rights are exercised in secrecy and concentrated in political authorities without independent supervision, the risks of arbitrariness are substantial.
“Surveillance measures that lack strict necessity, proportionality and independent judicial oversight can easily be weaponised against political opponents, journalists, civil society actors and election observers,” it added.
SERAP also warned that the regulations raise concerns as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections, noting that broad interception powers could be abused during politically sensitive periods.
“In an electoral climate, even the perception that private communications are being monitored can chill political organising, investigative reporting and voter mobilisation.
“Free and fair elections depend on confidential communications, protected journalistic sources and open democratic debate. Any misuse of intercepted data for intimidation, political advantage or disinformation would fundamentally undermine Nigerians’ right to political participation and electoral integrity.
“As 2027 approaches, interception powers must be narrowly defined, subject to prior independent judicial authorisation and backed by effective remedies. Without robust safeguards, these Regulations risk threatening privacy rights, freedom of expression and the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic process,” the suit stated.
SERAP maintained that any restriction on the right to privacy must comply with the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality, arguing that the regulations fail to meet these requirements.
SERAP also cited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as stating that mass surveillance programmes based on indiscriminate and blanket collection of personal data are arbitrary and cannot satisfy the requirements of legality, necessity and proportionality.
The group said the Nigerian government has a duty to adopt clear laws, safeguards, independent oversight mechanisms and accessible remedies to prevent abuse by state agencies and private actors, including telecommunications providers and technology companies.
According to SERAP, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) adopted the Lawful Interception of Communications Regulations, 2019 while exercising its powers under Section 70 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
The organisation argued that Regulation 4 grants broad discretionary interception powers to the National Security Adviser and the State Security Services, with little clarity on the scope or limits of such authority.
SERAP also pointed to inconsistencies within the regulations, noting that while Regulation 4 and Regulation 12 restrict interception powers to the NSA and SSS, Regulation 23 expands the category of authorised agencies to include bodies such as the Nigeria Police Force, National Intelligence Agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, and any other agency the commission may designate.
The organisation said this ambiguity undermines legal certainty and creates the risk of arbitrary application and abuse.
It also criticised provisions allowing interception without a warrant in certain circumstances, arguing that such powers are overly broad and susceptible to misuse.
SERAP further expressed concern that the regulations do not require authorities to notify individuals who have been subjected to surveillance, which it said weakens the ability of citizens to challenge unlawful monitoring.
The organisation warned that requirements compelling telecommunications licensees to install interception equipment and disclose encryption keys could undermine cybersecurity and discourage privacy-enhancing technologies.
SERAP acknowledged the government’s responsibility to address national security and organised crime but argued that such measures must remain within constitutional and international human rights limits.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.