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Ex-Militant Leaders Meet Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday assured ex-militants that the Federal Government was committed to the implementation of the amnesty programme and total transformation of the region.
Jonathan said this when he received the ex-militants who visited him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on solidarity over the October 1 twin-bomb blasts in Abuja.
The president, who received the former militants alongside Vice-President Namadi Sambo, said the “little hitches’’ hampering the implementation of the programme would be resolved very soon.
Jonathan said: “I sincerely appreciate your coming to tell, not only Nigerians, but the world what you stand for.
“As somebody who is also from the Niger Delta, I have a fair knowledge of the oil industry and the evolution of the Niger Delta issues.
“ I want to plead with you that even though like most programmes, we might have hitches, but I want to assure you that the government is actually committed.
“‘By God’s grace, most of these little hitches will be resolved.”
The president wondered why anyone would choose the jubilee celebration of the nation to express misgivings, if at all there was any.
He said the visit by the group had further confirmed the position that it was not a militant group, MEND, that was the mastermind of the attack, but a terrorist group sponsored from outside the country.
“I am happy that you are here because I am from there and I know all the actors and leadership of MEND.
“I am happy that you have told Nigerians and the rest of the world that it is not MEND that did it,’’ he said.
Jonathan said the bomb incident had “opened the eyes of the government’’ on how to improve on security network to forestall future recurrence.
“He thanked the ex-militants for their pledge to work with government to expose the perpetrators of the blasts.
“I want to thank you for coming to reassure us and pledge with the government to help it unearth some of these issues,’’ he said.
Our correspondent reports that the ex-militants numbering more than 90, in one voice dissociated themselves from the bombing.
They also promised to work with the Federal Government to fish out those who were the mastermind of the dastardly act.
The group also noted that the name “Gbomo Jomo’’ is a pseudo name that did not exist and could be used by anybody that has access to the group’s password.
Notable ex-militant leaders in attendance include Alhaji Mujahedeen Asari Dokubo, Chief Government Ekpomolo (Tompolo) and Ebikabowe Victor (Boyloaf).
Ateke Tom, Comrade Fara Dagogo, Shoot At Sight, Eberi Papa and Buster Ryme were also in attendance.
Boyloaf told the audience that MEND was not responsible for the condemnable act.
“We have disarmed. We say so to the world, these people claiming that they are MEND are impersonating.
“It is a terrorist act. The people responsible for the act should be dealt with accordingly,” he said.
Tompolo, who is the overall Commander of MEND, corroborated Boyloaf that MEND was not responsible for the act.
“I am the leader of MEND. We are not part of the incident of October 1. MEND is not involved. I am the owner of MEND.
“We are going to work with you to save this country for everyone,” he said.
The President of Ijaw Youth Council, Kuromiema Mabiye, who led the group, described the act as “dastardly irresponsible and morally reprehensible’’.
Alhaji Mahajeed Asari Dokubo, the Leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, described the action as heinous and condemnable.
He denied the involvement of any of the genuine agitators from the region in the incident.
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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