News

TACKLING INSECURITY IN ENUGU: Stakeholders Accuses Mbah Of Illegitimacy

Published

3 years ago

June 17, 2023

675 Views

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”.

News

President Tinubu Performing Umrah

The President is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing the religious exercise.

Published

9 hours ago

October 30, 2026

OCHEFA

14 Views

Photo: President Tinubu I Makkah

President Bola Tinubu on Friday commenced performing Umrah at Makkah in Saudi Arabia, praying for the nation and for every Nigerian to live in peace and harmony.

Tinubu on Thursday evening arrived in Saudi Arabia, landing at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

He was received by Nigeria’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yakubu Gambo, and the Saudi head of royal protocol Ahmad bin Thafir.

Thursday’s trip marks the second time Tinubu has travelled to Makkah to perform Umrah since assuming office on May 29, 2023.

President Tinubu visited the holy city in November 2023, shortly after attending the Saudi-African Summit in Riyadh, where he also prayed for divine guidance in leading Nigeria.

The latest trip is part of a series of foreign engagements undertaken by Tinubu since becoming president. He has visited more than 30 countries in over 50 unique and recurring trips.

The President is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing the religious exercise.

News

State police ready by December — Senate Leader

Highlighting the historic milestone, Bamidele explained that the 30 state approvals comfortably satisfy the two-thirds concurrency requirement mandated by Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Published

10 hours ago

October 30, 2026

OCHEFA

16 Views

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has expressed conviction that the proposed state police will be ready on or before December 2026, given that 30 State Houses of Assembly have officially approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026.

Speaking on the Bill on Thursday, the Leader of the Senate declared that multi-tier policing in Nigeria has moved from a recurring political promise into an actionable constitutional reality.

Bamidele, who also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, made the disclosure while delivering a paper at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.

He addressed participants of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 48 on the topic, “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governance through Proactive Lawmaking.”

News

Nigeria Debt Concerns Mount as Tinubu Seeks Fresh $20.5bn, €1bn Loans

Published

1 day ago

October 29, 2026

Charles Flames

37 Views

President Bola Tinubu’s request for approval to borrow $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion has intensified debate over Nigeria’s rising debt burden and its long-term implications.

Nigeria’s external debt climbed from $43.16 billion in June 2023 to $54.52 billion in June 2026 — an increase of $11.36 billion, or 26.3%. Over the same period, total public debt rose from ₦87.38 trillion to ₦166.79 trillion, a jump of roughly 90.9%.

When the latest loan request is combined with previously approved but undrawn financing, potential external debt exposure could reach about $81.96 billion if all facilities are fully drawn and there is no overlap. Officials stress this remains an illustrative figure rather than current outstanding debt.

The government says the new borrowing will finance critical development projects. Critics, however, are demanding greater transparency. They want clear evidence of what earlier loans have delivered — completed roads, functional hospitals, power projects that have increased electricity supply, and measurable gains for businesses and households facing high living costs.

Questions are also being raised about the scale of new borrowing at a time when government revenues are reported to be rising, and amid concerns from lawmakers about inadequate capital releases to ministries under previous budgets.

Opposition voices and civil society groups are calling for the National Assembly to insist on full disclosure before approving further loans. They want a project-by-project register of external loans since May 2023, showing amounts borrowed and disbursed, loan terms, project locations, implementation status and independently verified results. They also seek a clear assessment of future debt-service obligations and the risks from exchange-rate movements.

Borrowing can support development when investments produce measurable returns and repayment remains sustainable. The central issue, observers say, is not only how much more debt Nigeria can carry, but what citizens receive in return.

The National Assembly is expected to subject the requests to rigorous scrutiny.