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Senate Debates Emergency Rule In Three States, May 21 …As Army Begins Offensive Against Terror In Borno
The Senate has fixed May 21 for discussions on the state of emergency declared by President Goodluck Jonathan in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.
The Senate President, Sen. David Mark, announced this yesterday when he requested the senators at plenary session and those absent to be present on the day.
Mark said their presence was imperative for the Senate to form a quorum to deliberate on “an important national issue”.
“I would like to appeal to all distinguished colleagues here present and those who are not here, that they should be present on Tuesday, May 21, 2013.”
He said this was necessary “so that we form a quorum to deliberate on a sensitive matter that will be before us on that day’’.
Our correspondent reports that out of the 109 senators,only 54 attended yesterday’s session.
Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution provides that the proclamation of a state of emergency has no effect unless the National Assembly passes a resolution, supported by two third majority of each House.
It adds that the proclamation is to take place within two days when the National Assembly is in session and 10 days when not in session, after the publication in the Official Gazette of the Federal Government.
“A proclamation issued by the President under this section shall cease to have effect if it affects the Federation or any part thereof and within two days when the National Assembly is in session.”
The Leader of the Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, said the delay in the debate could not breach the Constitution since the proclamation had not been published in the government gazette.
“ The Constitution is very clear. You start counting the days from the date of the publication of the gazette. We haven’t seen any gazette.
“It is when the gazette has been published, if we are in session, we are obliged to approve or confirm it within two days.
“If we are not in session, then we are obliged to approve or reject it within 10 days. Section 305 does not provide a timeframe for the publication of the gazette.’’
“There is a lacuna here, but so far no provision of the Constitution has been breached and there is no constitutional crisis”, he said.
Meanwhile, More than 2,000 Nigerian troops have begun an offensive to retake territory seized by Boko Haram Islamist insurgents in the remote villages in north-eastern Borno State , some of them raiding camps in a game reserve, a military source told newsmen, yesterday.
The military has launched a sweeping operation to flush out Boko Haram fighters, a radical group which says it wants to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.
The offensive follows an admission by President Goodluck Jonathan that Boko Haram had “taken over” parts of the northeast and declared war against the Nigerian government, prompting him to impose emergency measures in the three states.
A military source, who requested anonymity, told newsmen that operations had started in, at least, one area of Borno State, the epicentre of the insurgency.
“Our men raided some terrorist camps in the Sambisa Game Reserve,” in northern Borno, early on Wednesday, he said. ‘
In January, the military stormed Boko Haram training facilities in the same area.
The source added that 2,000 troops had been deployed to Borno but declined to comment on the number of forces sent to the two other affected states, Y obe and Adamawa.
Army spokesman, Brigadier General Ibrahim Attahiru refused to discuss figures.
Residents in all three states have reported seeing an increased number of military personnel.
Zangina Kyarimi, who lives in the remote town of Marti in northern Borno towards the border with Chad, told newsmen yesterday that “large military teams” arrived late Wednesday.
“I saw dozens of military vans and trucks accompanied by tanks,” he said by phone from the town which is considered a Boko Haram stronghold.
“We are afraid of what might happen in the coming days. We are thinking of leaving.”
The security forces yesterday told banks to close in the town of Gashua in Yobe State, where suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked the police and a series of buildings on April 26, resident Musa Saminu said.
“Around 30 military vans passed through the town … They were heavily armed. Some of them went to the banks and asked them to close down as a precaution,” he said.
Red Cross spokesmen, Nwakpa O. Nwakpa said the orgainsation was prepared to offer relief to civilian impacted by the military operation
Nigeria’s security forces have been accused of massive rights abuses in campaigns against Boko Haram, which may have amounted to crimes against humanity, according to Human Rights Watch.
Boko Haram entrenched itself in the expansive region bordering Cameroun, Chad and Niger Republic due to relatively modest military presence and despite the boosted number of troops some analysts believe the Islamists will be able to spread out and find safe havens.
Boko Haram has carried out scores of attacks across northern and central Nigeria since 20-10, but experts say that in recent months, the Islamists have become better armed and better funded.
The group is believed to be led by Abubakar Shekau, declared a global terrorist by the United States, but the extent of his control is unclear.
Shekau has rejected any form of negotiation with the Federal Government.
The Boko Haram conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2010, including killings by the security forces.
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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