Featured
Insecurity: North Under Siege …Says People Now Buy Anti-Bullet -Sen Sani Charms For Protection …Buhari Has Failed To Secure Nigerians -Soyinka …As NAF Kills 10 Bandits In Zamfara
The Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, has blamed Northern political leaders for the worsening situation and calamity befalling the region.
He lamented that as a result of their lukewarm attitude towards addressing the issues bedevilling the area; social vices have become the order of day.
He spoke when some groups presented to him a letter of complaint on the insecurity challenges facing them in their various communities for onward submission to the National Assembly.
Sani said the entire Northern region was currently under siege and being faced with various security challenges. Sani said, “Today, the entire Northern Nigeria is under siege. In the North Wes,t it is the armed bandits, the North Central is experiencing herdsmen attacks and the North East is ravaged by insurgents.
“In Kajuru, it is Muslims and Christians against one another, in Birnin Gwari, it is banditry and kidnapping and along Kaduna-Abuja Highway, it is kidnapping and raping.
“I have been visiting you regularly and this time, you are in my residence. I have listened to your lamentation, tears, cries and appeals. “ I believe any conscious Nigerian is aware of what you are facing in Birnin Gwari.
“I must say the issue of Birnin Gwari reflects the fears and dangers we are facing in North West today. “Kidnapping is what we used to hear of in Niger Delta.
Today, Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Niger and Zamfara States are under siege,” Sani lamented. Sani, however, blamed the challenges of the region on the lukewarm attitude of the Northern political leaders. According to the senator, one of the problems of northern leaders is sycophancy which is now making the region bleed with overwhelming killings.
“The situation in Birnin Gwari is one that reflects the tragedy and danger that we are facing in the northern part of the country today. Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Kajuru, Southern Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger and some parts of Sokoto State are under siege.”
While speaking in empathy, Senator Sani said the situation in the North has forced many people to resorting into buying of anti-bullet charms for protection.
He said the insecurity in Kaduna is as a result of the governor and government not admitting the real security challenges the state is facing.
He urged residents of the affected areas to rise to face the situation by challenging those in the position of authority to do the needful and tackle the situation. “The most ideal thing is to face the situation and question those that we have elected into positions of authority,” he said.
Leader of the Coalition of Birnin Gwari Association, Nasir Khalid, in the protest letter, said several communities had been under attack of bandits since the eve of the general elections to date.
He said no fewer than 40 drivers had been killed in the last three months, while several communities in Kaduna, Zamfara and Katsina States were ransacked. Khalid lamented that the various governments had continued to pay lip service towards addressing the situation.
He appealed to the senator to deliver the letter to the Senate in particular for immediate intervention.
Meanwhile, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has slammed President Muhammadu Buhari for his “slow response” in dealing with the terror caused by Fulani herdsmen across many parts of Nigeria.
He said Buhari has failed on the security threat posed by herdsmen, adding that he was repeating the mistakes of his predecessor, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, in not dealing with the Boko Haram menace in a timely and adequate fashion.
“The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny”, he said.
Soyinka appeared on the BBC’s Hardtalk programme on Monday and anchored by Zeinab Badawi.
Reacting to Badawi’s question that he backed Buhari in 2015, describing the ex-army general as a “reformed democrat”, Soyinka said Buhari, “won by default” in 2015 because it was difficult to back Jonathan, and which meant supporting a continuation of the corruption associated with that regime. Nigerians were caught “between the devil and the deep blue sea”.
Soyinka criticized Jonathan’s ineffective response to Boko Haram, but placing the blame for failing to nip the problem in the bud at the feet of Olusegun Obasanjo, who was president from 1999 to 2007.
He said; “Obasanjo contributed to the emergence of Boko Haram by not preventing the first governor in one of the northern states from establishing a “theocratic state”.
Soyinka said that the president failed to act because he was “compromised” by his ambitions to continue in office beyond the second term limit.
He was, however, silent about why Buhari’s response to the killings of the herdsmen was so inadequate and said little about how the problem could be tackled effectively.
In a related development, the Nigerian Air Force, yesterday, said more than 10 armed bandits have been killed in Sububu forest in Zamfara state.
It said the bandits who have been terrorizing the various communities within the area were killed during air operations.
The spokesman of the NAF, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, explained in a statement that the Air Task Force of operation Diran Mikiya working together with ground troops carried out the operations.
Daramola said: “The Air Task Force (ATF) for Operation Diran Mikiya has neutralized no fewer than 10 armed bandits at Sububu Forest area in Zamfara State.
“This was achieved Tuesday, April 23, 2019, while the ATF was responding to a request for close air support by ground troops of Sector 7 Area of Responsibility of Operation Sharan Daji, who had come into contact with armed bandits in Shinkafi Local Government Area (LGA).
“Accordingly, the ATF dispatched 2 Alpha Jets and an attack helicopter to provide the needed support and also conduct armed reconnaissance over identified locations in Shinkafi LGA as well as Sububu and Dumburum Forests and environs.
“At Sububu Forest, one of the Alpha Jets spotted a group of armed bandits, who fired at the aircraft with their rifles, whilst running for cover. The Alpha Jet engaged the bandits, neutralizing no fewer than 10 of them while others escaped with injuries.
“The NAF, working in consonance with surface forces and other security agencies, will sustain its operations to flush the bandits out of the North-West of the country”.
Similarly, the Nigerian Army said, yesterday, that troops of 72 Special Forces (SF) Battalion in Makurdi killed suspected mercenaries and averted a clash between two Tiv clans – the Shitile and the Ikyora.
The Army spokesman, Col. Sagir Musa explained in a statement that the troops laid the ambush, last Monday, after receiving information on a planned attack on Katsina-Ala town by suspected Shitile militia.
According to him, following the ambush, troops were able to recover one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), two AK-47 rifles, 198 7.62 mm rounds of NATO ammunition, 16 7.63 mm rounds of Special ammunition, two vehicles and seven motorcycles.
Musa commended those who provided the information that led to the prevention of the clash and urged Nigerians to always be their “brother’s keeper’’.
He also called on the public to always give useful information to security agencies for decisive action.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, has dissolved the State Executive Council.
The governor announced the cabinet dissolution yesterday in a statement titled ‘Government Special Announcement’, signed by his new Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi.
Governor Fubara directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.
He thanked the outgoing members of the State Executive Council for their service and wished them the best in their future endeavours.
The three-paragraph special announcement read, “His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, Governor of Rivers State, has dissolved the State Executive Council.
“His Excellency, the Governor, has therefore directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.
“His Excellency further expresses his deepest appreciation to the outgoing members of the Executive Council wishing them the best in their future endeavours.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, even as it seeks N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027.
An additional N171bn is needed to support INEC’s routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections, the commission stated.
The INEC boss said the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.
He explained that, although the details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the almost N1tn election budget is structured across five major components.
“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chief noted that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the Commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”
On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided an envelope of N140bn, stressing, however, that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”
The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.
He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.
Amupitan also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical glitches.
Speaking at the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.
He advocated that the envelope budgeting model should be set aside.
He urged the National Assembly to work with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid future instances of possible underfunding.
In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable the Commission to plan early enough for the 2027 general election.
The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.
The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Simon Along, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the Commission to ensure it receives the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, also pledged legislative support, warning INEC to be careful about promises it might be unable to keep.
He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made strong assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.
“iREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.
The N873.78bn proposed by INEC for next year’s general election is a significant increase from the N313.4bn released to the Commission by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.
President Bola Tinubu yesterday expressed grief over the death of a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and one of Africa’s foremost literary scholars, Professor Emeritus Biodun Jeyifo.
Jeyifo passed away on Wednesday, drawing tributes from across Nigeria and the global academic community.
In a condolence message to the family, friends, and associates of the late scholar, Tinubu in a statement by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, described Jeyifo as a towering intellectual whose contributions to African literature, postcolonial studies, and cultural theory left an enduring legacy.
He noted that the late professor would be sorely missed for his incisive criticism and masterful interpretations of the works of Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
The President also recalled Jeyifo’s leadership of ASUU, praising the temperance, foresight, and wisdom he brought to the union over the years.
Tinubu said Jeyifo played a key role in shaping negotiation frameworks with the government aimed at improving working conditions for university staff and enhancing the learning environment in Nigerian universities.
According to the President, Professor Jeyifo’s longstanding advocacy for academic freedom and social justice will continue to inspire generations.
He added that the late scholar’s influence extended beyond academia into political and cultural journalism, where he served as a mentor to numerous scholars, writers, and activists.
Tinubu condoled with ASUU, the Nigerian Academy of Letters, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Oberlin University, Cornell University, and Harvard University—institutions where Jeyifo studied, taught, or made significant scholarly contributions.
“Nigeria and the global academic community have lost a towering figure and outstanding global citizen,” the President said.
“Professor Biodun Jeyifo was an intellectual giant who dedicated his entire life to knowledge production and the promotion of human dignity. I share a strong personal relationship with him. His contributions to literary and cultural advancement and to society at large will be missed.”
Jeyifo was widely regarded as one of Africa’s most influential literary critics and public intellectuals. Among several honours, he received the prestigious W.E.B. Du Bois Medal in 2019.