Politics
Zamfara Marks PDP Secretariat For Demolition
Zamfara State Urban and Regional Planning Board (ZURPB), has marked the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other structures as illegal and set for demolition.
Addressing newsmen at the secretariat, the spokesman of the Deputy Governor’s office, Umar Aminu Gusau expressed shock over the marking of the structure as illegal and ordering the stoppage of the activities at the secretariat.
He alleged that the secretariat was marked illegal structure due to political differences in the state, saying that the present administration does not want any opposition.
According to him, PDP leaders in the state wrote official letters to the ZUREPB, state Commissioner of Police, Department of State Security (DSS), Civil and Security Defense Corps and other relevant authorities and they all acknowledged the letters before they embarked on painting the secretariat.
“ZUREPB can not claim that we did not inform the board officially before embarking on painting the secretariat. We know that this is a power play” he added.
Gusau said that when the All Progressive Congress (APC) led by former Governor Abdul Aziz Yari, PDP in the state was allowed to operate without any molestation but the present APC administration does not want any party to challenge the government.
When asked what would be the next line of action by the leadership of PDP in the state, Gusau said the leadership of the party was waiting for the reaction of the Deputy Governor, Barrister Mahadi Aliyu Gusau who is the leader of the party presently in the state.
The Tide source can report that the newsmen were at the board premises waiting for the briefing as earlier promised by the Director-General but he did not appear to address journalists.
However, this medium gathered that there have been different opinions over the intention to demolish the PDP secretariat as some people condemned the move, saying that there were elements of politics in the whole process while others said the government did that for security reasons.
According to Ibrahim Mainasara, the APC-led government in the state does not want any strong opposition in the system, stressing that the government must have reasoned that PDP was a threat and must be silenced.
“ I advise APC to play the politics by the rules of the game instead of witch hunting another political party. The people in both APC and PDP are all Zamfara citizens and should be allowed to practice politics by choosing parties of their choices” he lamented.
The Tide source further reports that others were of the opinion that the proposed PDP Secretariat constitutes security threats, pointing out that the Secretariat was located directly opposite the state ministry of Finance.
“This is a political office of number one opposition party in the state and the thugs must always be there and can attack the ministry in case of any political problem”
As at the time of filing this report, the state government has not made any official statement regarding the intending plan to demolish PDP Secretariat in the state.
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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