Politics
NANS Calls For National Security Summit
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency convoke a National Security Summit with a view to ending the gale of kidnappings and banditry across the nation.
The apex students body ,in a statement in Ado Ekiti by its National President , Comrade Sunday Asefon, expressed disgust over the spate of kidnapping of schoolchildren in quick succession, saying the experiences from Chibok, Dapchi, Kagara, and Jangebe, in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State, were pointers to failure of governance at all levels.
NANS averred that the abduction of over 300 schoolgirls from Government Girls Junior Secondary Jangebe, Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State in the early hours of Friday, was an indictment and clear indication of the failure of the nation’s security apparatuses.
“These gale of Kidnappings have become one case too many and the fact that these kidnaps happened without any form of opposition from the security apparatus calls for serious concern.
“The emotional trauma on the kids even when released is long-term and unquantifiable; it may have a lasting influence on their perspective about school and education. Well-meaning Nigerians must be very concerned about this recent development.
”The nation currently faces multi-dimensional security challenges and continuous threats to the safety and security of our schools and this can no longer be tolerated.
“The event of recent time has made it expedient for the government to change its approach to the scourge of school kidnap especially in the North, it is therefore imperative for the kidnappers to be declared as terrorists and treated as such”.
Asefon stated that NANS under his leasership may resort to civil disobedience should the federal government fails to curtail the rising wave of kidnapping in schools.
“The NANS National Secretariat shall be relocated to Zamfara State, if the schoolgirls are not rescued within the next 72 hours to solidarize with the schoolgirls and ensure that the government at all levels are doing everything possible for the timely release of the schoolgirls.
”We will not hesitate to undertake any civil disobedient action to ensure every stakeholder is doing nothing less than their best to ensure the prompt release of our students.
“NANS calls on the citizens to collaborate with security outfits in the area of local intelligence gathering to forestall the reoccurrence of this ugly incident while encouraging the security agencies of living up to the billings of making our schools safe for students and staff”, Asefon said.
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
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