Politics
RSG Alone Can’t Fix Security – Alabo-George
Alabo-George
He belongs to the young, up and mobile professional class. Ross Alabo-George is an Information Technology specialist with vast experience in providing services to the oil and gas industry and other government and non governmental organisations.
In this two-part interview with Opaka Dokubo, George shares his deep feelings about some contemporary political developments in Nigeria with a strong bias for the Niger Delta and Rivers State.
Excerpts:
How do you feel when you hear the phrase ‘Rivers of Blood?
I think that is a cliche
that’s being pushed by elements in the political arena who want to destabilise the state. You need to see the kind of impression people have about Rivers State when you travel to Abuja or Lagos. There is this impression that Rivers State is like a Boko Haram area. That notion has been pushed by certain individuals who may be, think that casting the state in such bad light will force the Federal government to declare a state of emergency.
The sad thing about this is that the people who are doing this are indeed Rivers people. I understand that there are security challenges but it is not enough to categorise Rivers State ‘Rivers of Blood’. I think Rivers State is still a largely peaceful state when compared to states like Kaduna State, Plateau State and some states in the East.
We have criminal incidences like kidnapping which indeed is very sad but I think that in past few weeks, we have witnessed a drop in some of those activities. But I think that the state government has to do more in terms of collaborating with the security agencies. I don’t think that there is sufficient sync, the interface is not wide enough. I think that the state government has enough resources to mobilise the needed security resources to deal with this.
In Kaduna State, the police declared a state of emergency and actually brought in more personnel, Rapid Response Squads from different states to address the issue and we saw a sharp drop in criminal activities once that was done. In Rivers State, in the last administration, that was achieved because the PDP controlled the state and the federal government. But I know that the way the federal government will respond to the state government will be different and that is also the problem with our politics.
This is a federal republic and that means that the state has complete and full right to the security infrastructure at the centre and it is not even at the behest of the president. It is something that has to be done and so, once the Rivers State governor demands, it behoves on the president to respond immediately. It is a complex issue and we need to address it in a pragmatic manner. It is not for the state government alone to address.
What do you make of the president’s threat to treat pipeline vandals like Boko Haram?
I think that one of the silliest things that General Gowon said in the days leading the Biafran war was to use the word ‘crush’. He said he would crush them. It didn’t sound like he was talking about his own citizens. It sounded he was talking about foreigners and I think that the international community took that statement very seriously. And I want to call on the international community to take this statement by President Buhari threatening to deal with pipeline vandals like Boko Haram equally seriously.
Book Haram is a terrorist organisation and we all know the carnage and pain Boko Haram has caused this nation. For us in the Niger Delta, it is sad that these people have caused this nation more than the lives they have destroyed in the north. The fallout of Boko Haram has affected economic activities because when you travel out of the region, everybody thinks that Boko Haram is within the country. But it’s not true. They don’t understand that Boko Haram is confined to the North-East.
We have seen terrorist attacks by Fulani herdsmen. These herdsmen have killed over five hundred people. In fact, an entire community was sacked and razed down. And as I speak to you today, the president has not said anything about it personally. It is therefore shocking that the same man will talk about pipeline vandals. So, are the pipeline more important than the people in Agatu? Certainly not.
I think the president has a communication issue and I think the entire government is not connecting with the people. There is a gap. What we need is a rapid feedback system that will carry the people along. The president is in China to borrow two billion dollars but he has not visited the Niger Delta that generates 60 billion dollars every year. He has never been to any oil producing state in the Niger Delta after he won the election. He has been very careless with some of his utterances. For example he said, “you don’t expect me to treat the people that gave me 97% the same as the people that gave me 5%.”
You categorise the people of the Niger Delta as 5% and then you threaten to attack the people of the Niger Delta…? How can you give them the Boko Haram treatment without sacking communities? And then we have seen this drama about the Calabar-Lagos railine project. I know that the contract for that project was signed in 2014. The name of that project really was Niger Delta Coastal Railine but in the wisdom of President Goodluck Jonathan, he decided to call it the Calabar-Lagos Railine to give it a national outlook. The drama we’re seeing around the project suggests that somebody somewhere does not want that project to come to light.
When you think about that project, it is the biggest project ever in this country. That project is about half of the entire national budget. It is worth about three trillion naira, about 11.76 billion dollars. That is China’s biggest infrastructural project ever outside China. That is the biggest infrastructural project in Africa. So, looking at it from that perspective, I think that some people who are concerned about the economic benefits may be worried.
A senator who represented Taraba Central, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, has declared that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu are not yielding the expected results.
His comment is one of the strongest internal critiques yet from within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The comment underscores the growing dissatisfaction within sections of the ruling party over the direction and impact of the administration’s economic reforms amid rising living costs and fiscal pressures across the country.
Mr Yusuf, who served in the Senate between 2015 and 2023 under the platform of the APC, made the remarks during an appearance on national television.
Responding to a question on whether the administration’s economic direction, often referred to as Tinubunomics, was working, Mr Yusuf answered in the contrary.
“For me, it is not working. I am a member of the APC. I would be the last person to hide the facts”, he said.
He said while the government might be operating diligently within its policy structure, the framework itself is ill-suited to Nigeria’s current realities
“Within the policy framework, yes, they are doing their best, but it is not the framework that is suitable for Nigeria at the point in time that President Asiwaju came into power,” he said.
Mr Yusuf criticised the immediate removal of fuel subsidy on the day the president was sworn in, arguing that the decision lacked sufficient consultation and planning.
“I am one of those who say President Asiwaju ought to have waited. Not on the day he was sworn in to say subsidy is gone. On what basis?”, he asked.
He urged broader engagement before major fiscal decisions are taken.
“Sit down with your cabinet, sit down with your ministers, sit down with your advisers,” he said, dismissing the argument that subsidy removal was justified solely on grounds of corruption.
The former lawmaker identified “structural flaws” in the country’s budgeting system, particularly the envelope budgeting model.
“One of the basic problems is that before you budget, you should have a plan. The envelope system we have been operating has been you budget before you plan. That has been a major issue”, he said.
He argued that allocating spending ceilings without aligning them to concrete development strategies inevitably weakens implementation and delivery.
“If you give me an envelope which is contrary to my plan, whether it is plus or minus, there is no way I am going to implement my plan. It is bound to fail,” he said.
Mr Yusuf called for the scrapping of the envelope budgeting system, noting that he had consistently opposed it even during his years in the National Assembly.
“It is not good for us. It is not going to work well for us,” he said.
He further blamed poor capital releases and persistent deficit financing for undermining budget performance over the years.
“We could not meet 60 percent of our capital budget in all these years. No releases. If you make a budget and the release is very poor, there is no way the budget will be executed”, he stated.
According to him, weak fund disbursement mechanisms and reliance on deficit financing have entrenched a cycle of underperformance.
“Our budget ought to have been a surplus budget, but all our budgets have always been deficit financing budgets,” Mr Yusuf added.
The Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to reconvene for an emergency session tomorrow February 17, 2026, to deliberate on issues arising from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The decision was disclosed in a statement issued by the House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who described the electoral body’s announcement as one of “constitutional and national significance.”
INEC had fixed February 20, 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to the statement, members of the Green Chamber were notified of the emergency sitting through an internal memorandum from the Speaker’s office.
The session is expected to focus on legislative matters connected to the newly released timetable, reflecting the House’s resolve to act promptly on issues affecting the nation’s democratic process.
Rep. Rotimi noted that all related businesses would be treated with urgency and urged lawmakers to prioritise attendance in view of the importance of the deliberations.
INEC had on Friday formally unveiled the comprehensive schedule for the 2027 polls, including timelines for party primaries slated for July to September 2026, as well as the commencement of Continuous Voter Registration in April 2026.
The development comes amid ongoing consultations and proposed amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As the controversy over the transmission of election results continues across the country, the Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), a pro democracy organisation in the country, has criticised the National Assembly for not giving express approval to real time transmission of elections results.
To this end, the group is calling on all civil society organisations in the country to mobilise and push for a better Electoral Reform in the country.
This was contained in a press statement titled, “Defence For Human Rights and Democracy Demands Real Time Election Transmission of Result”, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
The group described the refusal of compulsory real time transmission of result results by the Senate as undemocratic, adding that the situation will give room for election manipulation, rigging and voters apathy.
It said that the provision of mandatory real time transmission of election results would have significant improvement on the nation’s democracy.
According to the statement, “Since the return of democracy in 1999 to date, it is 27 years, so our Democracy has metamorphosed from being nascent and as such significant improvement should have been recorded.
“Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is really disappointed at the National Assembly, especially the upper chamber (Senate) for not approving ‘Real Time Electronic Transmission of Election Result’.
“This undemocratic act of theirs, if not tamed, will give room for election manipulation and rigging’”.
Signed by Comrade Clifford Christopher Solomon on behalf of the organisation, the statement further said, “The Defence For Human Rights and Democracy unequivocally supports real time transmission of election result”, stressing that his group will resist any act by the National Assembly to undermine the nation’s democracy.
“DHRD,unequivocally supports ‘True Democracy’, which is Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Therefore, anything that will crash the hope of Nigerians to Freely, Fairly and Transparently elect candidates of their choice in any given election should and will be vehemently resisted because good governance begins with leaders elected through credible process. By so doing, leaders have entered a social contract with the citizens to equitably manage their affairs and abundant resources”, the statement added.
It urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue in order to avoid civil unrest.
According to the DHRD, “To avoid civil unrest,voters apathy, election rigging and manipulation, rather to promote citizens participation, advancing our Democracy and entrenching free, fair, credible and acceptable electoral outcome, the National Assembly should amend the electoral act in a manner that will deepen our democracy and boost citizens confidence.
“On this note, The Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is calling on all other civil society organisations (CSOs) to mobilise, organise and push for a better electoral act amendment by the National Assembly”.
By: John Bibor