National News
Borno expends about N1 Billion on relocating IDPs – Commissioner

Borno expends about N1 Billion on relocating IDPs – Commissioner
By: Our Reporter
The Borno State Government has spent about N1 billion in relocation of internally displaced persons from the Bakassi IDP camp in Maiduguri to their various local government areas.
The amount according to the Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement ministry, Engineer Mustapha Gubio includes the cost for the purchase and distribution of food to the IDPs returning home.
Engineer Mustapha Gubio, who had a chat with Newsmen on Monday in Maiduguri also counter reports from online medium challenging the uprightness of the Borno government in the distribution of cash and food items to IDPs amounting to the said amount.
It was alleged that “the N500 million claimed to have been distributed to IDPs in Bakassi camp for over 3,000 households as declared by the state government last Saturday was not commensurate with the actual number of the IDPs, said to have received the amount.
Also Read: PANEL COMMENDS AIG BALA CIROMA, URGES HIM TO DO MORE.
NEWSng gathered that many of the IDPs alleged to have collected the amount had left the camp some years ago.”
But Gubio insisted that a total of N500 million were disbursed last Saturday in the presence of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, in which, each head of household in Bakassi Camp received N100,000, while their wives were given N50,000 as stipends.
Gubio asserted that even if the head of household has four wives, all the wives were given N50,000 each, in addition to starter packs such as food and non-food items donated by the North East Development Commission, NEDC amounting to over N400,000 million.
Gubio said, the 31st December dateline given by Borno State Government to close all IDPs camps in Maiduguri and its environs still stand, but insisted that no IDP will be forced out of the city if he/she chose to stay.
He explained that, since most of the IDPs have indicated willingness based on the Kampala Convention, the state government has spent huge resources in relocating IDPs before closing four camps.
He pointed out that, the latest IDPs who have indicated interest to relocate and drawn from Bakkasi camp; are from Gwoza, Guzamala, Marte and Monguno Councils of the state.
“We went to the Bakassi IDP camp with his Excellency, Governor Babagana Zulum to distribute stipends up to N500 million and various starter packs which cost over N400 million,” stating that this will enable the displaced persons to return to their ancestral homes successfully.
“With the shutdown of Bakkasi camp, this brings to four officially declared camps closed in the state.
“We’re taking them to the Councils’ headquarters; where there are enough shelters to house them,” he said, noting that the IDPs are not returned to their respective communities.
According to him, they are to stay for a while at the council headquarters, before building houses for them with the provision of schools, health and water supply facilities through the checklists on basic needs of life.
He disclosed that this will also enable the State Government to declare the camp officially closed in a week.
At the Kampala Convention, he said that the closure of all camps in the state is in compliance with the convention, which states that the return of IDPs should be with dignity and pride into the liberated communities.
He said that the IDPs are going back willingly to their ancestral homes without any coercion.
Borno expends about N1 Billion on relocating IDPs – Commissioner
National News
VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution
By: Michael Mike
Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed deep grief over the passing of prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, saying the nation has lost an irreplaceable institution.
The late Dantata, an uncle of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, passed away at the age of 94 in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Mustapha Abdullahi Junaid, his Personal Private Secretary (PPS), who confirmed the death.
In a condolence message, Vice President Shettima praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, describing him as “a living bridge that connected us to our past.
“We have not just lost a leader; we have lost an irreplaceable institution,” Senator Shettima said, describing Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history” whose departure marks the end of a vital chapter in the country’s economic and democratic evolution.
“In African tradition, when such an elderly person transitions, a vital chapter of our history departs with them. He was indeed among the great titans, a living bridge that connected us to our past,” VP Shettima added.
The Vice President extended heartfelt condolences to the Dantata family, expressing hopes that they would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” even as he prayed that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.
Born into the legendary Dantata family of Kano, Alhaji Aminu built on his father’s commercial legacy to become one of Nigeria’s most influential business figures. His empire spans construction, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors.
Beyond business, Dantata was renowned for his extensive philanthropic work, funding schools, mosques, health centres, and supporting widows and the underprivileged across Nigeria.
VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution
National News
Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting
By: Michael Mike
The Senior Officials Meeting between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.
A statement on Saturday by the Press Officer, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Modestus Chukwulaka, read: “The Delegation of European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS wishes to inform that the Senior Officials Meeting between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja.
“The agenda of the very important meeting is to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.”
According to the statement, the Senior Officials Meeting will be co-chaired by the Regions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria, Ambassador Janet Olisa, Director, and the Deputy Managing Director for Africa Department, European External Action Service, European Union, Mr Mathieu Briens.
The statement revealed that the agenda of the meeting is expected to entail wide-ranging discussions that would focus on various aspects of the Nigeria – EU partnership, such as: Cooperation on multilateral and regional issues; Peace, Security and Governance; Humanitarian situation; Trade and Investment; Human Development: Health, Education, Social Protection; Science, technology, innovation and digital transition; Migration; Energy, climate change and green economy transition among others.
Nigeria and the European Union share a deep, long-standing partnership inspired by mutual values and interests as well as support for multilateralism and rule-based international order, the statement said.
Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting
National News
Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People
…. Donates relief materials to displaced persons in Yelwata, IDP camp
By: Michael Mike
Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri has charged former governors, legislators, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Benue state to set aside rivalry, unite and act with urgency to save their people from incessant attacks and killings.
Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Principal Partner, Brookfield Chambers Abuja stated this on Saturday 28th June 2025 while donating relief materials to victims of the recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
Some of the items donated under the banner of Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organisation (WYCCO), a non-governmental organization founded by her, include: bags of rice, sugar, tubers of yam and other household items.

She said: “This is no time for division. It is no time for political squabbling or ego-driven manoeuvring. Among us are men and women who have led this state — former governors, legislators, traditional rulers — individuals with influence and authority. The time has come to set aside our differences and stand united, for the sake of the ordinary Benue man, woman, and child.
“That is why I stand here today to make this urgent and heartfelt appeal to our leaders: cast aside rivalry, unite, and act. Act with urgency. Act with purpose. Because what we face now increasingly resembles a deliberate, coordinated effort to erase our people and our heritage.
“We must take heed of the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who once said:
‘Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them.’
Another of Churchill’s warnings is just as relevant to our present predicament:
‘If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed… you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”
Waziri, while stating that her call was a build up to the earlier proposal by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit Beforehand Benue, noted that meetings alone would not solve the problem, urging that: “But let us be sincere: peace will not come from meetings alone. To end the cycle of violence, we must confront its roots. Before the Yelwata massacre, communities in Gwer West, Apa, and Guma had already endured weeks of killings, kidnappings, and raids. These horrors did not emerge in a vacuum; they are symptoms of deeper issues.
“We must therefore confront the real causes — ethnic and religious tensions, unchecked banditry, and the rise of cultism as well as the abuse of illicit drugs. These forces must be tackled, along with the herder-farmer conflict, with honesty and courage. We cannot afford to keep going in circles. And there is no room for blame games. Our leaders — and indeed, all of us — must be pragmatic. So today, let us commit, as one people, to healing our wounds, reclaiming our land, and ensuring that never again will a child in Benue grow up in a camp instead of a home”
She said the development in Benue must be of “concern to all sons and daughters of Benue regardless of whether we live within its borders or far away in the diaspora to find out the root cause of these attacks with a view to proferring solutions that will bring an end to these barbaric acts”
Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People
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