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TACKLING INSECURITY IN ENUGU: Stakeholders Accuses Mbah Of Illegitimacy

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The Enugu State Stakeholders Forum (ESSF) has ascribed the failure of the state government’s cancellation of the Monday sit-at-home order to the lack of legitimacy by the new Peter Mbah government that came into being last May 29.



In a statement in Enugu today signed by the ESSF’s leader, Professor Joseph Aneke, and the secretary, Dr Ifeanyi Agbo, the stakeholders said that what would have been a good government initiative failed spectacularly because Mbah did not think through it before announcing it.



“Mbah has been desperate to do something popular to get accepted by the Enugu people because he and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government did not win the March 18 gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections”, declared the stakeholders.



“He merely hit upon the idea of ending the illegal sit-at-home declared by nonstate actors; it is a brainwave rather than a sound government policy”.



The ESSF observed that if the government had thought through it, the administration would have first called a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the government’s new step to end insecurity and provide honest suggestions on the way forward which all groups would accept to implement from an agreed day.



The ESSG regretted that with “the government order failing as most Enugu people last Monday observed sit-at-home as usual, out of fear of vicious attacks by nonstate actors, the state government took a panic measure by calling for a meeting of all kinds of stakeholders yesterday (Saturday) at the Old Governor’s Lodge in GRA, Enugu.



“The meeting should have been called before announcing the cancellation as no right-thinking person puts the cart before the horse.



“The central issue in ending the destructive sit-at-home order is deploying security forces everywhere, from markets to government offices to motor parks to major and minor roads, and all other public places.



“The people will defy IPOB and its agents once there is a fair assurance of security”.



The group also faulted the government for implementing the cancellation before the appointment of key government officials.



“It is top government officials like the Commissioner for Security and the Special Adviser on Security who will drive the implementation of this security step and take responsibility for it, not just the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, a fellow Nkanu person who is the only person appointed by Mbah since assumption of office”.



The ESSF criticised the meeting at the Old Governor’s Lodge “for having only one item on the agenda: endorsement of the anti-sit-at-home order, which looks pretty sycophantic.



“It should have discussed in a serious manner modalities for the success of the government’s cancellation of the order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that has been taking a tremendous toll on the entire people of the Southeast.



“The government’s resounding failure or inability to think correctly before taking action is what normally obtains when the people did not choose a government, and so does all manner of things to gain acceptance.



“Security is not provided through populism and all such acts of playing to the gallery”.

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BREAKING: Rhodes-Vivour Aide Attacked as Police, Thugs Disrupt ADC Declaration (Video)

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Violence erupted on Saturday in Lagos during the planned declaration of Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party’s former governorship candidate, into the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Suspected thugs, allegedly backed by security operatives, disrupted the event, attacking supporters and injuring Rhodes-Vivour’s personal photographer and aid.

Eyewitnesses report that police, accompanied by armed groups, blocked access to the planned venue for Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour’s ADC declaration, despite prior payment.

Rhodes-Vivour was reportedly informed that the order came “from above,” directing him to seek resolution with the Police Commissioner.

The area was heavily militarized overnight, with soldiers and DSS operatives joining the police to restrict movement.

The actions against Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour’s planned ADC declaration have ignited outrage among his supporters, who perceive the incident as a deliberate attempt to thwart his move.

Sources indicate that Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, was expected to attend the event.

The disruption follows reports of violence against ADC supporters in various locations across the country.

Watch the moment Rhodes Vivour’s aid was beaten as police, thugs frustrate ADC declaration:


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Insecurity Renders 80 million Nigerian youths jobless- Report

The document, titled “State of the Nigerian Youth Report 2025,” presented in Abuja, yesterday, by the Advocacy and Youth Programme Officer at Plan International Nigeria, Jonathan Abakpa, painted a troubling picture of wasted opportunities in a country where over 60 percent of the population is below the age of 30.

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A new report by an independent humanitarian non-profit organisation, Plan International Nigeria, has said that nearly 80 million Nigerian youths are unemployed, while more than 1,500 schools have been shut in the past two years due to insecurity.

The organisation, while raising alarm over the worsening conditions confronting young people in the country, said the development had left about one million children out of school.

The document, titled “State of the Nigerian Youth Report 2025,” presented in Abuja, yesterday, by the Advocacy and Youth Programme Officer at Plan International Nigeria, Jonathan Abakpa, painted a troubling picture of wasted opportunities in a country where over 60 percent of the population is below the age of 30.

The report, produced in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria, with contributions from policy and advocacy experts, was presented at the Nigerian youth dialogue in commemoration of the International Youth Day, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Youth in Parliament.

(The Guardian )

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Benjamin Hundeyin Takes Over As New Force PRO

The IGP urged Hundeyin to deploy his wealth of experience in communications and security to further strengthen the image of the Nigeria Police Force and sustain robust relations with the public.

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The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has approved the appointment of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Benjamin Hundeyin as the new Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO).

He takes over from DCP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who served as Force PRO until his redeployment.

Hundeyin, a graduate of English Language from Lagos State University, also holds a Master’s degree in Legal Criminology and Security Psychology from the University of Ibadan.

He further obtained a Certificate in Civil-Military Coordination from the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Training Centre, Jaji, Kaduna State.

The new FPRO is an Associate of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), a Member of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM).

A seasoned communicator, Hundeyin previously served as the Police Public Relations Officer at Zone 2 Command, Lagos, and later at the Lagos State Police Command.

He was also part of Nigeria’s contingent to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, Sudan, in 2020, and at different times worked at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, as Administration Officer in the Public Relations Department.

The IGP urged Hundeyin to deploy his wealth of experience in communications and security to further strengthen the image of the Nigeria Police Force and sustain robust relations with the public.

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