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Stop giving excuses, go after terrorists, restructure country now, Afenifere tells Tinubu

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President Bola Tinubu

Stop giving excuses, go after terrorists, restructure country now, Afenifere tells Tinubu

The Yoruba socio-political organisation, the Afenifere has challenged President Bola Tinubu to go after the terrorists operating across the country. It warned that he could not afford to fail in this critical national assignment like his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

The group said now is the time for the President to demonstrate sheer political will and courage to annihilate these monstrous individuals killing and abducting people, in their hundreds, particularly innocent school children and giving Nigerians heartache and sleepless nights.

The group said it would be quite disastrous and quite disappointing too if the president will like his predecessor treat these blood-squealing terrorists with kid gloves when he ought to begin to work on list of terrorists already with the government with a view to making the criminals account for their heinous acts

Afenifere also called on Tinubu to commence restructuring the country to operate regional government under parliamentary system while his recent pronouncemet on state police should be allowed to have its foothold.

The group also bemoaned the unbearable economic hardship Nigerians are currently experiencing under President Tinubu saying that the local currency, the naira has suffered the worst trajectory of devaluation of 35% in just first 9 months of his administration, achieving the very first massive devastation of naira ever in history.

“Let the people begin to see a change Mr. President — A challenge being tackled over the years with same methods cannot yield a different result from a certain failure.

“Change your method, Mr. President.  Go after the sponsors of Terror. Restructure this country.  Expedite the action towards the creation of State police.

“Return the country to parliamentary system of Government. Bring back Regionalism. And watch our countrymen, countrymen and our hopeless children begging to live again in dignity, right before your very eyes,” Afenifrre demanded in a statement jointly signed by its Publicity Secretary and Assistant, Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo and Justice Faloye respectively.

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On the recent killings in Plateau as well as abduction of over 100 school children in Kaduna, Afenifere said the agents of destabilisation who have dealt severe blow to the past administrations have just begun to test the willpower of President Tinubu and the earlier he let them know it was not going to be business as usual the better it will be for his government and Nigerians.

“The recrudescence of this human tragedy is as clear to the Afenifere as the daylight is distinct from the eventide.Since this democracy took off, this pattern remains constant, ever present;

“Create chaos, distabilise the government, embarrass the President, finally, disgrace the President out of office.

“No president since 1999 has escaped this scourge, coming with the political Sharia against Obasanjo, the Niger Delta violent political Agitation of Obasanjo and Yar’Adua and cleverly solved by the duo.

“The Boko Haram religio-later-turned-political instrument to embarrass a sitting southern Christian president as it was with Jonathan, who was told to convert to Islam, followed by the kidnapping extraordinaire of the Chibok girls type, the final shuck that shocked Jonathan out of office.

“This “Àbíkús”, coming once a regime and for repeated times from as far back as the Zango Kataf crisis, come with land grabbing, human displacement and subjugation of a people over another, often planned, aided, lauded and prompted by those self styled as owners of Nigeria.

“President Buhari openly displayed and practiced the five “P”s: He prevaricated to them; He pampered them; He protected them; He paid them; He played along with them.

“They were terrorists; Buhari curiously preferred to call them Bandits. Their acts as aggressors, killing farmers, destroying their produce, stealing indigenous peoples’ lands, clearly marked them as Terrorists.

“Buhari’s government would rather term these acts as Farmers/Herders clashes. The most disturbing expository, elucidatory, explicative REALITIES about the whole saga is that these terrorists are known to government.

“Kabiru Sokoto, the Christmas Day bomber in a church in Abuja, in 2012, was found hibernating in the guest house of the then former governor of Borno, now the Vice PRESIDENT of Nigeria. Hermeneutic.

“A former Director of the Presidential Campaign Council of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Hajia Naja’atu Mohammed, fired her former party alleging that the then vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, now the vice president, is a sponsor of terrorism. The former APC chieftain said this during a television interview on Arise Television.

“Sheikh Gumi openly goes into the dense forests to meet terrorists in the company of those trained to eradicate Terror, but rather than arrest them, the Sheikh openly gives the terrorists money… For a job well done or for the future jobs yet to be done in the name of Terror, for it never takes long after the monies were openly paid that yet another Terror act is carried out.

“It never ever served as a determent. It was always to the country’s detriment.

“Former governor Ortom of Benue suffered the most. After hundreds of Benue Indigenes were killed and their ancestral lands taken away from them, the terrorists had the nerve to drop a note, a promissory note that they will yet be back on New year’s day to “finish the job”.

“The then Governor did what a sensible governor would do, took the letter to Buhari the president and after studying the said letter, told the governor to “go and make peace with his neighbors”, only a complicit does that.

“Mr. President, you have to be brutally reminded of these recrudescences in history, a disease constant, an Àbíkú, real, clear and present.”

The group spoke of how the leaders of the Southern and MiddleBelt Leaders Forum under the leadership of Chief Ayo Adebanjo had in an open letter after 2023 Christmas eve massacre in Plateau during when over 300 were killed, told the President that he could not afford to be “another Nero who fiddled while Rome burnt”.

The group explained further that on Christmas Eve in 2023, there was a massacre on the Plateau.

“Chief Ayo Adebanjo Leader of Afenifere, led other leaders that make up the four zones from the South West, South East, South South and the Middle Belt on a condolence visit to the governor and to the Gwom Gwom Jos and to the entire people on the Plateau.

“About 300 humans were slaughtered like rams. An open letter written, jointly signed by the Leaders of the SMBLF, {Southern and MiddleBelt Leaders Forum} in which you were tasked, specifically to turn yourself into a Hero and not a Nero, the one who fiddled while Rome burnt.

“That letter will always be constantly ringing in your ear, never to go away. A Hero makes history, is not afraid, does not turn a blind eye. Mr. President, Arrest these perpetrators now! No more excuses Mr President

“You were reminded in the SMBLF letter to you of all the information available in the public domain — The eleborate discussion that took place on National Television in which Retired Commodore Olawunmi, a former intelligence officer, a product of our intense military training, specifically said that a list of all the perpetrators of Terror in Nigeria, has been submitted to the federal government.

“Many in the list he further elucidated, are/were in government high-places. As president, you have access to this list.

“Again, the former Attorney General of the Federation also alluded to the existence of such other lists of painstakingly collected names of known sponsors of terror.

“On the 7th of May, 2021, the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, said that ongoing investigations have revealed many highly placed Nigerians and businessmen involved in financing terrorism.

“He said the ‘strongly’ suspected financiers were already being profiled for prosecution. It is now, the 12th of March 2024 and not one of them has been brought to court, let alone, justice!

“Interestingly, a foreign Nation, The United Arab Emirate has bought to court and to justice some Nigerian Known Sponsors of Terror, even allegedly, The UAE, has been reported to have diplomatically passed on certain names to the Nigerian government, up till this moment, nothing has been done under your watch!

“Nigerians woke up to yet another slaughter in the hundreds and kidnappings in the two hundreds in yet another school in Kaduna.

“It is down to you Mr. President if you would rather go the way of your predecessors, by looking the other way and let innocent blood flow, be disgraced and set for an early exit or find the strength, the will and the courage to face the sponsors of Terror, with the resolve to eradicating this Àbíkú scourge from ever again taking root anywhere in our Land.

“Through your policies, fiscal and monetary, the local currency has suffered the worst trajectory of devaluation of 35% in just your very first 9 months in office, the very first massive devastation in the history of this country.

“The Nigerian naira plunged to its lowest point on record in official trading as a shortage of US dollars persisted despite promises by the government to boost supply.

“Our people are dying due to hunger. Nigeria has become the hunger capital of the world. How are the people, so impoverished be saddled with paying ransom to kidnappers right in the middle of possibly the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world that even Ukraine a country with Russia lasting two year and still counting, is now the one to be sending humanitarian aid to Nigeria!?

Stop giving excuses, go after terrorists, restructure country now, Afenifere tells Tinubu

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Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers

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Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers

 

A former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to honour another invitation extended to him over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Bello went to the anti-graft office with his lawyers in the morning.

The ex-Kogi governor reportedly drove himself to the EFCC’s office in a black Toyota Hilux van with some lawyers.

He was said to have been taken by some operatives of the agency and are currently being grilled.

This is  coming after the Supreme Court judgment which dismissed a suit brought by some state governments challenging the constitutionality of the agency.

The EFCC at the last hearing on November 14, sought the adjournment till November 27 in the fresh case it instituted against Bello.

It stated that the 30-day window was still running for the summons earlier issued.

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Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct 

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Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct 

 

Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has announced the immediate suspension of two commissioners with a permanent secretary among others for gross misconduct.

Those suspended are the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Francis Ori, and the Commissioner for Health, Moses Ekuma, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health.

The suspension followed an incident on Saturday night, when the governor reportedly visited the Ministry of Health’s premises and was said to have found six officials diverting government materials.

Others suspended for three months are the Executive Secretaries of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency

The suspension order was announced by the state Commissioner for Information, Jude Okpor, who cited alleged misconduct and dereliction of duties as the reasons for the disciplinary actions.

Okpor made the disclosure on Tuesday during a press briefing on the outcomes of the State Executive Council meeting held on Monday at the New Government House in Abakaliki, the state capital.

“Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health, respectively

“In view of the development, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary Health was directed to take charge of the ministry in the absence of the suspended commissioner.

Governor Nwifuru directed the suspended government officials to hand over all government properties in their possession including vehicles to the Secretary to the State Government.

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Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG

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Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun

Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG

The Federal Government has defended its decision to borrow to address budget deficits, despite surpassing revenue targets in 2024.

Finance Minister Wale Edun and Budget Minister Atiku Bagudu clarified this position during a session with the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Finance, Budget, and National Planning. The meeting focused on the 2025–2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

Last week, the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s $2.2 billion loan request to fund the N9.7 trillion deficit in the 2024 budget partially.

During the session, key agency heads, including Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) CEO Mele Kyari, Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman Zacch Adedeji, presented their revenue reports.

The agencies reported exceeding their 2024 targets.

  • Customs Service: Generated ₦5.352 trillion by September 30, surpassing its ₦5.09 trillion target for the year. For 2025, the agency projects ₦6.3 trillion, with a 10% increase planned for 2026.
  • NNPCL: Achieved ₦13.1 trillion in revenue, exceeding the ₦12.3 trillion projection for 2024. Kyari announced a ₦23.7 trillion revenue target for 2025.

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  • FIRS: Surpassed multiple tax collection goals, including ₦5.7 trillion from company income tax against a ₦4 trillion target. Education tax collections also exceeded expectations, reaching ₦1.5 trillion compared to a ₦70 billion target.

Overall, ₦18.5 trillion of the ₦19.4 trillion 2024 revenue target had been achieved by September, indicating the goal will be exceeded by year-end.

Despite these surpluses, the government insists borrowing remains essential to cover budget gaps and support vulnerable populations.

Bagudu explained, “Even with agencies exceeding revenue targets, borrowing is necessary to address deficits and boost productivity, particularly for the poorest. This aligns with Agenda 2050, which aims for a GDP per capita of $33,000.”

Edun also reiterated that loans were critical for adequately funding the budget.

The committee, led by Senator Sani Musa, questioned the rationale behind the borrowing and demanded further transparency. The Immigration Service was specifically asked to provide documents regarding an “unacceptable PPP arrangement” before the end of the week.

The session underscored the government’s balancing act between increased revenues and fiscal challenges requiring external borrowing.

Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG

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