News

S’West Shuts Down For New Security Outfit

Published

6 years ago

January 22, 2020

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has tongue-lashed ex-governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, over his comment that the Western Nigeria Security Network code-named ‘Operation Amotekun’ would lead to the declaration of Oduduwa Republic.
The security task force was initiated by the six South-West governors to tackle kidnapping, banditry and ritual killings bedevilling the region.
Many leaders from the region supported the initiative with some northerners kicking against it and the Federal Government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, describing it as illegal.
Balarabe had said during an interview with a national daily last weekend that Operation Amotekun would lead to the declaration of Oduduwa Republic.
But Soyinka, in a statement, yesterday, said Balarabe was sadly wrong with his position on Amotekun, adding that he hoped he wasn’t tragically wrong.
Soyinka said, “Balarabe is sadly but I hope not tragically wrong. I invoke the tragic dimension here because the making of tragedy, especially for nations, often begins when fears are mistaken or promoted as facts, and governments either by themselves, or together with interest groups, are enticed by fears into embarking on precipitate, irrational, and irreversible acts.
“Such acts turn out, in the end, to be based on nothing but fears, sometimes generated by guilt over past injustices, such as inequitable dealing. That is the basis of tragedy, towards which nations are propelled by a partial, or wrongful reading of socio-political realities and- history. I would like to see this nation avoid such a blunder. So, I am certain, would Balarabe Musa.
“Raising the spectre of secession is a facile approach to the dangerous, self-evident lapses in governance which Balarabe himself acknowledges in his response to the Amotekun principle made flesh. The midwives of Amotekun have repeatedly acknowledged that theirs is only a contribution towards a crisis of escalating proportions. Other states should be encouraged to emulate, not misread such initiatives, and then demonise them by false attributions. That is the certain recipe for tragedy.”
However, different groups under the aegis of Yoruba World Congress (YWC), yesterday, stormed streets in Osogbo, Osun State; Lagos; Abeokuta, Ogun State; Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State; Ibadan, Oyo State, Akure, Ondo State, for what leaders tagged ‘awareness march’ in support of the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun.
In Osogbo, the march took off around 10:30 am at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park and moved to Okefia and to Olaiya Junction all within Osogbo metropolis, with the participants eulogising South-West governors for coming up with the security initiative.
Participating in the march were members of Agbekoya, Hunters Group of Nigeria and some civil society groups.
The participants were accompanied on the march by the police, operatives of Department of State Security, and National Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).
Armed with a large banner with the inscription “On Amotekun We Stand,” the participants urged all stakeholders in the region to support the security initiative since it was designed to check rising insecurity.
Speaking with newsmen at Olaiya Junction before the march moved to other parts of the state capital, Coordinator of the event, Dr. Akin Adejumo, said the participants were not protesting the seeming opposition to the initiative.
He explained that the march was to sensitise the populace on the necessity of the Amotekun security initiative amidst rising insecurity in the region.
According to him, Western Nigeria Security Network was a response from South-West governors to the heinous crimes being perpetrated in states in the region.
He said the march was also to show governors in the region that the people were in support of Amotekun and to further get more people to back the initiative.
“We are telling the government on behalf of our people that Amotekun has come to stay. It is a response to a very serious problem that is not typical to the South Western part of Nigeria.
“The region used to be known as the most peaceful part of the country for generations. That peace was being cut short by some calculated efforts by brigands and all forms of negative vibes.
“That is why we have to encourage the governors to stop the tide. We are here to show our support to the governors. For the first time, they have proved to be Omoluabi.
“They responded to the yearnings of the people. We are telling governors that we stand by them and Amotekun must survive the present blackmail,” Adejumo concluded.
In Akure, the Ondo State Governor and Chairman, South-West Governors Forum, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu declared that Operation Amotekun has come to stay in spite of pressure by the Federal Government.
Addressing members of the Yoruba World Congress (YWC) comprising different pressure groups during a solidarity rally by the group in Akure, Akeredolu said the six governors of the South-West region have resolved not to bow to pressure from any quarter on the new security outfit.
The governor, who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Chief Gbenga Ale, said “we are not ready to abandon our people. We shall stand by the people of the Yoruba race notwithstanding the pressure.”

News

FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

Published

21 hours ago

September 19, 2025

The Tide

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.

News

FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

Published

22 hours ago

September 19, 2025

The Tide

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.

News

KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

Published

23 hours ago

September 19, 2025

The Tide

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