Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume has advocated better welfare packages for the military men fighting insurgency in Nigeria, calling on President Bola Tinubu to revisit issues of their welfare.

Ndume said the members of the Armed Forces need to be better motivated so the country can see a drastic result in the fight against insecurity.

According to the lawmaker, the military men are not adequately motivated or equipped to fight the war against insurgency. He therefore called on the President to increase their salaries and allowances so it can serve as a motivation for them to win the war.

The Senator, who agreed with the recent rallying call from the President to heads of security agencies that he will not accept failure, said Tinubu needs to revisit the welfare of men and officers tackling insecurity across the country, especially in the North East.

“President Tinubu has made it clear that he won’t accept excuses from heads of security agencies. And I agree with him. We need to win this war. But we need to do more.

“I’m urging the President to do more and revisit these issues; he must equip them, motivate them, and revisit their salaries and allowances.

“These moves will go a long way in changing the tide of war in favour of the government. But currently, what they’re getting is too small to even take care of their daily needs in the field while fighting.

“I’m optimistic that if the right things are done, we’ll see a different outcome in the ongoing insurgency war in various parts of the country. Let’s equip and motivate them, and we’ll see drastic changes,” he said in a phone chat with Tribune on Monday.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has warned against witchhunt that may scare big investors like the chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote from further investing in the country.

The Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi Kadir, gave the warning on Monday during an interview on Arise TV, monitored by THE WHISTLER.

Kadir reacted to issues surrounding preferential FX allocation by the government to Dangote Industries Ltd and over 50 others.

Last week, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission invaded the Lagos office of Dangote Industries Ltd over an alleged foreign exchange probe.

The EFCC is investigating 52 companies over their foreign exchange dealings in the past ten years.

But the MAN D-G said the government can decide on the sector to give FX support, particularly the one that is critical for the country’s economic survival.

Kadir said, “I mean the issue of the invasion of Dangote headquarters is quite an unfortunate one, and I think it’s something that Nigeria needs to look at in a very serious manner, so that the government decides as to whether we are going to continue to encourage private investment, and how we deal with our champions, without any doubt.

“Dangote industry is an institution, it’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest, manufacturing entities, not only in Nigeria, but in Africa, it employs thousands of people, and it’s one of those, I mean if I were the government, it’s one of the companies that I would rely upon to get me out of this forex issue that we’ve been talking about.

“So, my take is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a company being close to the government, and who will be close to the government? If you are a businessman, and you have invested in such a humongous manner as Dangote has invested, not only in Nigeria but outside of Nigeria, of course, you have to be close to the government, of course, your business dealings will make you have engagement with government.

“You require incentives, and we look at the kind of money that is borrowing. I sometimes I wonder whether he sleeps. So, I believe that from your strategic point of view, and as a nation that wants to grow its economy, what would you focus on? I don’t think there’s anything. It has to be creatively done. It has to be intentionally done. And it’s not something that is not practiced elsewhere.”

The man D-G said the probe by the EFCC if not properly managed may scare foreign investors from investing in the Nigerian economy.

According to him, the EFCC needs to clarify on the matter surrounding the investigations in other to restore investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy.

He added, “I have a feeling that the EFCC, for instance, needs to be able to clear the end on what is intended to do. I believe and I hope and I pray that the negative interpretations that he’s been giving to this rate, is not true.

“I think it behoves on the EFCC to come out to give some form of explanation that will not only reassure the Dangote Industries Limited, but it will assure all other domestic investors.

“Because I’m told that there are more than 50 and then, quite importantly, foreign investors. I mean, to explain in the best way that is possible. Very interesting about how this is going.”

The Federal Government says plans are almost “ready” for the commencement of full contactless passport application and the delivery of the same to applicants via courier. 

“Starting March 8, Nigerians will no longer have to come to our offices for their biometric,” the Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today. “They can do it from the comfort of their homes and have their passports delivered to them.”

Starting March 8, Nigerians will no longer have to come to our offices for their biometric, they can do it from the comfort of their homes and have their passports delivered to them.

– Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior#PoliticsToday#CTVTweets pic.twitter.com/4dOCJzGhiH

— Channels Television (@channelstv) January 8, 2024

The minister spoke hours after the automated passport application portal was opened to the public, a fulfillment of the promise he made late last year.

“The whole solution is almost ready. We have phase one, phase two, and phase three. This is phase one that we have delivered. Phase two is the one in the diaspora. The one in the diaspora will be delivered on February 8. Then phase three is the contactless biometric whereby you don’t even need to go again and that’s March 8,” Tunji-Ojo explained.

“I guarantee you that in two months’ time, you sit at home, do your biometrics, fill in your delivery address and we send it to you via courier.”

Poised To Deliver

According to him, Nigerians should hold the ministry to its promises, expressing optimism that passport application in the country will become a much more seamless process soon.

“The Ministry of Interior is poised towards delivery of every promise that we made,” he maintained.

“With this now, the only thing you need to do there: you have an appointment, you just go there, take your biometrics. No picture and nobody is looking at your documents,” the minister added.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has pegged its expression of interest and nomination forms for aspirants seeking the party’s ticket for the Edo State governorship election at N50 million.

A schedule of activities and timetable for the election signed by the APC national organising secretary, Suleiman Argungu, and posted to the party’s verified X handle on Monday night, indicated that the party’s primary would hold on February 17.

The timetable also indicated that female aspirants and Persons With Disability (PWD) would buy the expression of interest form while the nomination form would be issued to them for free.

Similarly, youths between the ages of 25 and 40, are to purchase the expression of interest form and enjoy a 50 per cent discount on the nomination form.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed September 21 for the election.

A former Director General of Peter Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation in the 2023 general elections, Doyin Okupe, has formally resigned his membership of the Labour Party (LP) over ideological differences.

Okupe in a letter on Monday to the LP National Chairman, Julius Abure, anchored his resignation on ideological differences that emerged after the 2023 elections.

He said that his lifelong alignment with right-wing and liberal democratic principles clashed with LP’s left-of-centre ideology, making continued membership untenable.

In a swift reaction, the National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh told Daily Trust that “It is also a good thing because he is not expected to be in a territory where his ideological bent will be confused or different.”

Ifoh said Okupe has always been a PDP man, thus the LP expect that he returns to anywhere that he wants to be and wish him all the best in his future political pursuit.

Daily Trust, however, gathered that while Okupe did not state his next political move, two of his close allies suggested that he would in a few days formally decamp to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and may be received by the national chairman of the APC, Dr Umar Ganduje in Abuja or Ogun State.

Recall that Okupe on December 21, 2022 resigned as Peter Obi’s Campaign Director over conviction for corruption.

President Bola Tinubu has sacked the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera.

He also sacked the Director-General and CEO of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alexander Ayoola Okoh.

This is contained in a statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

Ngelale said the sack of the two CEOs was in conformity with plans to restructure and reposition critical agencies of the Federal Government towards protecting the rights of Nigerian consumers and providing a strong basis for enhanced contributions to the nation’s economy by key growth-enabling institution.

He said the two dismissed Chief Executives were directed to hand over to the next most senior officer in their respective agencies, pending the appointment of new Chief Executive Officers.

“By this directive of President Tinubu, their removal from office takes immediate effect,” Ngelale said.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has expressed dissatisfaction with a judgment of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court awarding N100 million damages against it in favour of a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele.

Justice O.A Adeniyi, on Monday, January 8, 2024 fined the Commission after he ruled that the Commission’s detention of Emefiele in the course of his investigation was a violation of his right to liberty.

The EFCC, in a statement issued by its spokesman, Dele Oyewale on Monday, said the decision failed to take cognizance of the fact that the former CBN boss was held with a valid order of court.

“Consequently, the Commission will approach the Court of Appeal to set it aside,” the EFCC said.

One of the most concerning subjects in Nigeria today is the renewed call for the liberalization of access to the ownership of guns, in the face of the worsening state of insecurity in the country. This is not the. first time such a call would be made. With insecurity ravaging Nigeria in the last two decades in the form of banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, sectarian violence, ethnic strife and religious conflicts resulting in an orgy of killings, and destruction of property, the displacement of persons, and a persistently apparent inability of the Nigerian state to serve its true purpose which is to ensure “the security and welfare of the people”, the despair, angst and bitterness among the people has led not a few to demand that the best option for Nigerians is to allow every citizen to own a gun and defend themselves. The thinking is that the best way to address terror is to counter it with terror in similar or equal proportion.

As recently as 2018, for example, a member of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Kabir Marafa (Zamfara Central) while contributing to a debate on insecurity in the country, told his colleagues matter of factly that “… people cannot be slaughtered in their houses helplessly. Maybe what we need to do is to liberalise gun control. Let everybody own a gun so that when you are coming to my house, you will know that I have my own gun while you are coming with yours”. Marafa’s home state of Zamfara is one of the killing fields in the North West of Nigeria. Six years later, the situation has only worsened. By 2021, the Nigeria Security Tracker created by the US Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) had counted up to 2,700 deaths in less than 10 years due to insecurity in Nigeria – and even that was a modest estimate because for the most part many acts of violence are unreported or under-reported. Senator Marafa is not alone. He spoke the mind of many others. Nigeria is a country truly where many people are “slaughtered helplessly”. By 2021, Darius Ishaku, then Governor of Taraba state (2015-2023), and Bashir Magashi, Minister of Defence as he then was (2019 – 2023), had also suggested that the people should be courageous to carry arms in self-defence.

In 2022, Zamfara state even went a step further when it announced that the governor, Bello Matawalle, had directed the state police commissioner to issue gun licences in each of the 19 emirates in the state to those wishing to defend themselves. “Government is ready to facilitate people, especially our farmers to secure basic weapons for defending themselves”, the state commissioner of information reportedly said. State Commissioners of Police do not ordinarily take instructions from state Governors but at least that Governor had to be seen to be saying something. Similarly, in Katsina state, then Governor Aminu Masari (2015 – 2023), frustrated with the spate of killings in his state, once told the people of the North West state to “buy guns and defend themselves.” He reportedly added that “it is Islamically allowed for one to defend himself against attack. One must rise to defend himself, his family and assets. If you die while trying to defend yourself, you’d be considered a martyr. It is surprising how a bandit would own a gun while a good man trying to defend himself and his family doesn’t have one”. Masari had the support of a group called Katsina State Innovative Thinkers Initiative. He was opposed by the Katsina State Chapter of the Coalition of Northern Groups. Other state Governors who at one point or the other called for the right to bear arms include the late Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN (with regard to Amotekun), and former Zamfara Governor, Bello Matawalle. In May 2023, Hon. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa (Doguwa /Tundun Wada Federal Constituency) made a similar call. Thus, the conversation about the need to liberalize the ownership of guns in Nigeria has been recurrent, and has even become strident as each successive administration fails to improve the people’s conditions. But would the open ownership of guns by Nigerians solve any problem? I don’t think so.

With the mindless killings in three local governments in Plateau state, and in Taraba and Zamfara between Christmas Eve and the end of the year 2023, that question has reared its head again. Over 200 persons were killed, more than 300 injured, about 10, 000 were rendered homeless, in a carnage that went on for more than two days despite over 30 distress calls to the security agencies! More persons are now calling for arms in every possible hand that can pull a trigger, urging the people to resort to self-help and these include Senator Ned Nwoko who has called for the introduction of a bill that allows civilians to own and carry firearms, Mike Ejiofor, a security expert, who says a culture of resistance in the face of mindless attacks should be encouraged, and a group of Kaduna youths who have asked President Tinubu to allow them to carry arms to defend themselves and their communities. The National President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Bitrus Pogu has also recently expressed the view that “Nigerians should be allowed to carry at least some arms to defend themselves and to restrain them from doing so would amount to “a conspiracy against the people”. However, the Chief of Army Staff, General Taoreed Lagbaja objects to all these calls, saying it is a call for anarchy.

What the Army Chief failed to note is that what the people are actually reacting to is the failure of the institutions that he represents, the Nigerian security establishment and the utter failure of the Nigerian state. The state in Nigeria has failed the people so badly that lives have become cheap and worthless, our common humanity has been eroded. In virtually every part of the country, people do not feel safe, farmers in the Middle Belt, the North West and the North Central cannot go to their farms. It is risky to travel by road or trains as the routes have been taken over by bandits and kidnappers. Worse still, the same security agencies that are maintained at tax-payers expense to protect the people are for the most part agents of violence inflicting pain on the people, as has been seen in sundry cases of police brutality, abuse of uniform, accidental killings, and the professional omissions of the men in uniform. Having lost faith in the capacity of the state to protect them, if not in the state itself, many Nigerians are compelled to resort to self-help. It has been argued that in fact certain forms of violence such as terrorism, ethnic conflict and sectarian violence are actually acts of rebellion against Nigeria itself - its organization and dis-organization, beyond the felt criminal implications. This is why the long-term solution must begin with making the Nigerian state functional for the citizens’ benefit. Putting a gun in every hand may not be the solution. In a country where there is so much ingrained bitterness, and religious/ethnic divisions, as well as frustrations about the common patrimony and matters of justice, fairness and equity, the liberalization of gun use would be an invitation indeed to chaos and nihilism.

Ownership of guns in Nigeria today is controlled by the Firearms Control Act (2004), the principal provisions of which state that (1) no person shall have in his possession or under his control, any firearm or ammunition except such persons is licensed by the President or the Inspector General of Police (2) no such license should be granted to persons under the age of 17, persons who are of unsound mind, persons with eyesight problems, and persons that have anger control issues, and only the Inspector General of Police can grant a license to make and repair arms; (3) personal firearms including shotguns and automatic/semi-automatic guns are prohibited; (4) anyone who violates the law is liable to a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. Those who ask for the right to own guns are quick to draw attention to Section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution and how the government seems to have failed the people; Section 33(1) which protects the citizen’s right to life, and Section 33 (2)(a) which gives a private citizen the right to use reasonable force to defend himself/herself as well as property from unlawful violence. The pro-gun lobby go a step further to point to the limiting effects of the aforementioned provisions of the Firearms Control Act. Except this Act is amended, and I do not see why it should be amended, Nigerians including those who want guns are duty bound to obey it.

Whereas Constitutional provisions constitute the basic law, part of the insecurity challenge in Nigeria is the failure to implement and enforce the Firearms Act. There are firearms and ammunition of different brands and capacity in millions of unlicensed hands. The Nigerian government is not sure of the number of guns already in circulation in Nigeria. Our borders are porous, and there are all kinds of local gun manufacturers in hidden places manufacturing and repairing arms without any license. In many parts of the country, live ammunition is sold in underground markets and Nigerian security agencies have no quality intelligence as to how that ecosystem works. The law says persons with unsound mind or poor eyesight should not hold weapons. For the benefit of whoever cares to listen, Nigeria is a theatre of mass psychosis. How else can we explain the phenomenon of trigger-happy security agents, who threaten as they wish to waste people’s lives with the assurance that nothing will happen? In a country where there is cultism even in primary schools, it would be mere wishful thinking to assume that persons younger than 17 do not already have access to guns. The menace of drug abuse has turned Nigeria into a bomb waiting to explode. Hunger angers the people. Mass unemployment has thrown many into depression with maniacal tendencies. Are these the people we want to give the freedom to bear arms and ammunition in the name of self-defence? In a country that in fact believes in witchcraft, the resultant anarchy could eventually lead to civil insurrection. We must not adopt a measure that can consume the nation.

The view has been expressed that Nigeria should be like the United States where the right to bear firearms is constitutionally guaranteed under the Second Amendment. Let such persons be reminded that one of the major threats, in the same United States, is the right to bear arms - a threat to lives, hopes, the economy, politics, a harvest of deaths and violence that has become an American epidemic. Gun-related deaths in the US have risen by more than 50% in the last decade, with an average of about 100 deaths being reported daily on average. Mass shootings are common, in 2022 alone about 46 school shootings were reported. In Richmond, Virginia, in the last three years, almost 30 students have died in gun-related violence.

Even the National Rifle Association (NRA), the umbrella body for gun-lobbyists and self-styled defenders of the Second Amendment, has been exposed as a group of hypocrites. Their long-term CEO/Vice President, Wayne LaPierre has just announced his resignation with effect from January 31, under very controversial circumstances bordering on corruption. It is a mortal sin to engorge at the expense of other people’s lives. It is specious to argue that “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” Nigerians are good copycats, but we must be careful what we copy from other societies in the throes of their own peculiar kind of mass psychosis. Nigeria must not borrow other people’s madness as a solution to its internal problems.

The thing to do is to re-tool and refurbish our security agencies. The Nigeria Police is too weak as it is to enforce any laws in any meaningful and sustainable manner. The Police are primarily responsible for the protection of lives and property. They seem to have submitted that responsibility to the military even under a civilian dispensation. It is scandalous that they are often absent during moments of major security breaches. Many of the affected communities prefer to direct distress calls to the military, pretending not to know that Nigeria has a Police Force. The National Council of State should meet more often to encourage inter-agency collaboration, complementarity and the sharing of intelligence. It is argued that everyone should carry arms and ammunition because cattle herders do so for both personal security and economic reasons - the cattle herder may need to protect himself, but only as long as his firearm is licensed. Cattle rearing is still an issue because of climate change and desertification in the North, but this is a security problem that can be stopped through an effective cattle ranching system.

In Kwara State at a time, the Shonga Farms, led by white Zimbabwe farmers managed cattle ranches that fed people and serviced hotels and dairy farms, before that, some states in parts of the country had ranches – the Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River state for example. In 2024, Nigerians should not be fighting over animal grazing. Ethiopia has millions of cattle: how to feed the stock is not an issue. Cattle rearing does not have to be ethnically determined. Nothing stops state governments in parts of Nigeria from engaging in livestock farming to reduce the North-South seasonal migrations. The Joint Task Force in the North East also bears arms: but are they licensed to do so as part of a formal response to the crisis in that area? That is the question. And let those who ask for guns for all note that the Firearms Act actually favours only the rich. A firearm does not come cheap. The poor cannot afford to build an artillery. The rich are busy doing so, and the more arms and ammunition that they buy and give to their political thugs and other agents, the more they endanger this country. When the rule of law and political will begin to prevail and good men control the system, Nigeria will begin to turn the corner with its security challenges.

The Super Eagles faltered 2-0 against Guinea in a pre-AFCON friendly game in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Monday, raising concerns about Nigeria’s readiness for the competition which begins this week.

Nigeria named a strong side for the game with returning William Troost-Ekong captaining the side while South Africa-based goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali manned the post.

But the Syli National drew first blood when Aguibou Camara netted in the 14th minute of the game.

The Super Eagles had a chance to go level when Real Sociedad forward Sadiq Umar was hacked down in the box. Nantes’ Simon Moses stepped up to take the resultant spot kick but his effort was saved by the Guinean goalkeeper.

Coach Jose Peseiro’s men rallied for an equaliser before half-time. That did not, however, happen as Nigeria went into the tunnel trailing against their fellow West Africans.

In the 64th minute, Guinea doubled the lead to compound the Super Eagles’ woes no thanks to a Facinet Conté’s strike.

While Peseiro made some changes in attack, midfield, and defence, the Syli Nationals held on for a famous win over the three-time African champions.

Monday’s defeat is coming hours after the Super Eagles wallopped a Dubai-based club 12-0 in another friendly tie.

The Nigerian boys are expected back in the country from their UAE camp on Tuesday. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State will host them in a send-forth ceremony on the same day. Thereafter, the 25 players and officials will head out for Cote d’Ivoire where the competition is billed to begin on Saturday.

Nigeria, winners of the tournament in 2013, are in Group A alongside the host nation; Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. They begin their quest for a fourth continental title on Sunday, January 14th against Equatorial Guinea.

The hosts nation face Nigeria on Thursday, January 18th, before they battle Guinea-Bissau on Monday, January, 22nd.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq.

She was earlier interrogated by EFCC investigators over allegations of corruption in the handling of N37.1 billion social intervention funds during her tenure.

Umar Farouq arrived at the headquarters of the commission in Abuja on Monday in honour of an earlier invitation over an investigation into her time as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs.

EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, similarly confirmed the development in an interview with Premium Times, saying, “Mrs Sadiya Umar-Farouk arrived at our office this morning.”

The ongoing investigation by the EFCC revolves around the staggering sum of N37.1 billion allegedly laundered by officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development then led by Umar-Farouq as the minister.

The EFCC had earlier grilled the suspended National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Halima Shehu.

The commission detained Shehu after raiding NSIPA’s office in the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, on 2 January. She was held for questioning till the following day when she was released on bail.

Shehu, who was recently suspended by President Bola Tinubu, was responsible for overseeing the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. She was replaced with Akindele Egbuwalo, in an acting capacity.

The EFCC also summoned Umar Farouq for questioning over the case, but she requested a rescheduling of the appointment.