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China Advises Nigeria on Poverty Reduction

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China Advises Nigeria on Poverty Reduction

China Advises Nigeria on Poverty Reduction

The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun has advised the Nigerian government on how to reduce poverty in the country.

He said Nigeria can reduce poverty ravaging the nation by investing in human capital development and increased investment in the critical sectors of the economy.

The envoy said this in Abuja on Tuesday in his remarks at the closing ceremony  of the Nigeria-China Cultural week and award ceremony.

He said his country is ready to help Nigeria reduce the level of poverty in the country, adding that China eradicate extreme poverty in February 2021 through good leadership dedicated to sustained policies that revamped the Chinese economic  from its backward state  to a modern economy with a GDP of $15.7 trillion in a period between 1952 and 2020.

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Speaking at the occasion to mark China’s celebration of its 72 independence anniversary and Nigeria’s 61, the envoy said the successes in economic growth, innovation, poverty eradication, the Belt and Road Initiative were predicated on mobilizing the people behind a collective will to work together and achieve a goal.

Jianchun noted that as part of the robust 50-year-old bilateral relations with Nigeria, China can assist in replicating its successes in Nigeria by sending young Nigerians to China to understudy the system, get the experience and impact on the Nigerian system.

He said: “I would like to share with you that we can do this together because poverty elimination, reduction or eradication really needs leadership and that has been shown that the Chinese President had the strong will.

“How can we achieve this difficult target? We can see that a lot of project policies are in place.

“The most important aspect is that we mobilize the whole society to work together to eradicate poverty from rural areas.”

He added that: “I think there is a need for the two countries to work on this poverty eradication. I think this is a very meaningful thing not only for Nigerian people but also for the international community.”

The Ambassador said the photography and video contest, put together by the Embassy, is also to create a platform to celebrate the excellent cultural relations between both countries.

In his remarks, Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC),  Otunba Segun Runsewe,  commended Jianchun for his efforts in strengthening the Nigeria-China ties with so many strategies and commitments.

He noted that  Nigeria has a lot to learn from China, adding that Nigeria will build a Cultural village during the 2022 Olympics in Beijing to celebrate  and strengthen the cultural ties.

China Advises Nigeria on Poverty Reduction

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2027: A glance at Yobe politics and those struggling to succeed Governor Mala Buni

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2027: A glance at Yobe politics and those struggling to succeed Governor Mala Buni

By: Yahaya Wakili

Yobe State in 2027 remains politically heavily influenced by a concentrated group of established elites, including former and current governors, legislators, and traditional leaders who maintain significant control over party nominations and resource distribution. This centralized power structure has contributed to political stability and smooth transitions but simultaneously limits democratic participation and impedes broader developmental progress. Notably, long-serving legislators such as Rt. Hon. Chiroma Buba Mashio exemplify the entrenched nature of this elite dominance. Within this context, the question of Governor Mala Buni’s successor is largely shaped by these influential actors rather than open electoral competition.

Yobe’s political future appears to be orchestrated by a limited cadre of power brokers whose influence will likely determine Governor Buni’s successor. The absence of transparent contestation or emerging alternative leaders suggests continuity within established networks rather than transformative political shifts by 2027.

For now, about six politicians are currently struggling to succeed Governor Mai Mala Buni, CON, in the 2027 general elections in Yobe State. The names currently circulating in the social media, who are all members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), include The former Senate President and current Senator for the Yobe North Senatorial District, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, PhD, GCON Sardaunan Bade; Senator Ibrahim Mohammed Bomai, Turakin Fika, Yobe South Senatorial District; Senator Musa Mustapha, Yobe East Senatorial District; Hon. Jibrin Mai Gari, a Commissioner representing Yobe State in the Federal Character Commission; Hon. Kolo Lawan Geidam, who was currently a mandate Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, FCT Abuja; and the current Secretary to the State Government, Baba Mallam Wali mni

But the battle line may be drawn between former Senate President Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, PhD, GCON, and Senator Ibrahim Mohammed Bomai. The two top gladiators in Yiobe politics have been working to win the people recently. All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, however, is warning its members to desist from such calling because it says it is too early now to start campaigning for the 2027 general elections. Yobe State is divided into three senatorial zones: Zone A, Zone B, and Zone C. Zone A is Yobe East, Zone B is Yobe South, and Zone C is Yobe North.

Despite rumors circulating about Governor Buni’s potential defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC), official statements from his spokesperson categorically deny any intention to leave the party or join coalitions ahead of the 2027 elections. This affirmation underscores Buni’s continued centrality within the APC framework in Yobe State. However, neither these denials nor public discourse provide clarity on who might succeed him after his tenure concludes.

Since the return of democracy in the country in 1999, only the APC has been ruling the state, and they call it a one-party state in the country, and since then only Zone A has been producing the governor; this includes the late Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Minister of Police Affairs Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, and current Governor Hon. Mai Mala Buni CON, and Zone B has produced only one governor, the late Senator Mamman B. Ali, and he spent only 18 months in office before he died, while Zone C didn’t produce anyone, not even the deputy governor. But recently , in his interview with newsmen at his residence in Potiskum, the former APC State Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Abdu Chillariye, said rotation or zoning has become necessary in Yobe politics if they want the party to succeed in the 2027 general elections in the state.

According to Adamu Abdu Chillariye, if they want justice in the politics of Yobe State, let the party introduce the rotating formula of the governorship set in the 2027 general elections to other zones. It is not a traditional institution to say that only one tribe or one zone can continue to produce the governor at any time, he said. This will not augur well for our great party, and even after our lives, the rotating must be done in Yobe politics. If they want justice to prevail in Yobe politics, people are afraid to say the truth. The people of Zone C are crying for marginalization; they said they were marginalized, and they call on the party in the state to do justice. They expressed their feelings. The people of Yobe North, Zone C, have started appealing to the party leadership that this time around it is the turn of Zone C. Because the marginalization is too much, they said since the restoration of democracy in 1999, the people of Zone C have been marginalized. They said we, the people of Zone C, are always loyal to the APC, but they do not carry us along; they have always marginalized us in Yobe politics.

They also expressed their feelings on Yobe politics; the people of Yobe South Zone B said, This time is our turn. Let them allow us to complete our tenure because the late Senator Mamman B. Ali spent only 18 months in office before he died. He was supposed to spend 4 years in office, so the people of Zone B are overdue to complete their tenure. The political analysis in Yobe State says this time in Yobe State, if care is not taken, in 2027 the APC in Yobe State will lose its credibility and its seat to the opposition party in the state because the opposition will use this opportunity to wrestle the governor’s seat in the state. They said the politics of Yobe is becoming a family affair, and if the APC doesn’t change its style of dictatorship, it will lead them to failure.

2027: A glance at Yobe politics and those struggling to succeed Governor Mala Buni

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DEMOCRACY STRONG AND ALIVE IN NIGERIA; IGNORE ALARMISTS

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DEMOCRACY STRONG AND ALIVE IN NIGERIA; IGNORE ALARMISTS

By: Bayo Onanuga

We have read the alarming claims of disgruntled opposition figures, some partisan human rights crusaders and emergency defenders of democracy over recent defections of key members of opposition parties into the governing All Progressives Congress.

The seismic shift caused by Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno’s open declaration of support for President Bola Tinubu, the defection of the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, the former vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last election, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, and the principal political actors in Delta and Rivers States certainly threw the opposition and their sympathisers into disarray.

While the opposition elements are understandably heartbroken over the failure of their fabled grand coalition to gain traction, we find it disturbing that they resorted to peddling false allegations of promoting a one-party State against President Bola Tinubu, who is working very hard to reverse decades of economic mismanagement in our country.

Contrary to the false claims in the propaganda materials in circulation across mainstream and social media, democracy is not under any threat in Nigeria. Accusations that the administration is moving towards authoritarianism are baseless and exaggerated.

We must add that no policy, official action, or directive from the Presidency seeks to “dismantle democracy” or “weaken opposition or create a one-party state.” Accusations of bribery, blackmail, and the weaponisation of state institutions only exist in the idle minds of politicians and their agents who have failed in their assigned role of opposition and are fishing for scapegoats.

The opposition cannot blame President Tinubu and the governing APC for their poor organisation, indiscipline, and gross incompetence in managing their affairs. It is certainly not part of President Tinubu’s job to organise or strengthen opposition parties.

We find it curious that those who celebrated the defection of the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the formation of a regional grand coalition with the sole aim of defeating President Tinubu in the 2027 election are the same people shedding crocodile tears over Nigeria’s so-called drift to a one-party state and authoritarianism.

While the latter-day defenders of democracy raised no anxious voice against the disgruntled politicians cobbling an anti-Tinubu, anti-APC coalition along dangerous regional lines, even before INEC blows the whistle for party politicking, they are quick to ascribe the political shifts in some states to “bribery, blackmail, and coercion” without any shred of evidence.

Without any equivocation, freedom of association, freedom of speech and freedom of choice are part of the cherished ideals of democracy. When politicians and citizens cannot freely join any association or political party of their choice or cannot openly express their views, democracy is imperilled. Those opposed to the Tinubu administration should understand that they can issue diatribes, without fear, against the government because we practice a thriving democracy.

It is hypocrisy writ large when opposition politicians and their collaborators in the ‘human rights’ movement desire that the party of the President should implode so they can gain electoral advantage and cry wolf when their wish does not materialise.

We want to state that democracy is not threatened or undermined simply because politicians exercise their rights to freedom of association. Nigerians migrating to the APC and expressing support for Tinubu are doing so out of their free will, based on the belief that the reforms being executed are in the interest of Nigerians and the unborn generation. It is a gross disservice to democracy in itself for these emergency defenders of democracy to delegitimise the political choices of some Nigerians while upholding the choices of others to form a coalition against Tinubu and APC.

Under President Tinubu, democracy is strong, and the multiparty democratic system will continue to flourish unhindered. His administration remains resolutely committed to upholding and strengthening the democratic foundations upon which our Fourth Republic has stood since 1999

Politicians changing party affiliation is not new or peculiar to Nigeria. In more advanced democracies, there are ready examples of notable politicians, statesmen and women who changed their parties.

President Tinubu and the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, deserve commendation for making the ruling party viable and attractive to all Nigerians willing to participate in the democratic process.

President Tinubu is an avowed democrat and a firm believer in multiparty democracy. His political activism and democratic credentials in galvanising and strengthening opposition platforms as a force that defeated a sitting President and the then ruling party attest to his credibility as a tested defender of multiparty democracy.

We urge all Nigerians to join hands with the administration in protecting our democracy by respecting our people’s choices and giving alarmists, who draw their narratives from the pool of fiction, a wide berth.

DEMOCRACY STRONG AND ALIVE IN NIGERIA; IGNORE ALARMISTS

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At World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting, VP Shettima Pushes For Nigeria’s HCD 2.0 Agenda

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At World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting, VP Shettima Pushes For Nigeria’s HCD 2.0 Agenda

** Calls for evidence-based interventions, stronger global partnerships in education, health, labour sectors

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima has called for stronger international collaboration to advance Nigeria’s Human Capital Development 2.0 (HCD 2.0) strategy.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to positioning human potential at the heart of national development.

Speaking virtually at a high-level roundtable on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, VP Shettima said the success of HCD 2.0 will hinge on data-driven, evidence-based interventions and sustained political will.

The HCD 2.0 programme is designed to elevate Nigeria’s Human Capital Index (HCI) and equip Nigeria to face both national and global challenges, including climate change and digital transformation.

The Vice President pointed out that the meeting was necessitated by the urgency to invest in the Nigerian people and by the recognition that true national wealth is found not in natural resources, but in human potential.

“This meeting, for us, is not just another item on our global agenda. It is a continuation of a journey whose beginnings I had the privilege of witnessing about seven years ago. True national wealth is found not in natural resources, but in human potential.

“We will offer our HCD 2.0 Strategy the political backing it deserves to be the priority of our nation, and His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has never wavered on this,” he said.

The session featured key stakeholders from the World Bank, including Executive Director, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed; Regional Director for Human Development in the Western and Central Africa, Trina Haque; Senior Social Protection Specialist and Regional Task Team Leader, Africa West & Central region, Tina George, and Chief Economist for Human Development in the World Bank Group, Norbert Shady.

The Nigerian delegation included the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President/ Chair of the HCD Core Working Group, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia and Special Adviser to the President on National Economic Council & Climate Change/National Coordinator of HCD programme, Rukaiya El-Rufai.

VP Shettima reiterated the federal government’s determination to ensure the continuity and deepening of the HCD agenda.

“Government is a continuum. Nowhere is this truer than in programmes that demand patience, vision, and long-term commitment—programmes such as our Human Capital Development programme,” he noted.

He revealed that under HCD 2.0, six priority indicators from the health, education, and labour force sectors have been selected as “quick wins” to guide policy interventions and track measurable progress.

“We have carefully curated priority indicators and an HCD Dashboard to track them. This allows us to make informed policy decisions and measure our progress against tangible benchmarks,” Senator Shettima said.

The Nigerian Vice President also reaffirmed the administration’s resolve to remain transparent and results-oriented to achieve measurable outcomes.

“We will continue to hold ourselves accountable and press forward toward our bold goal to elevate Nigeria among the top 80 countries in Human Capital Index rankings,” he said.

Senator Shettima also called on the World Bank and other development partners to support the availability of disaggregated, state-level Human Capital Index (HCI) data to enable more targeted interventions.

Stressing the need for equity and inclusiveness in implementing the HCD 2.0 strategy, he said, “We are leaving no sub-national in Nigeria behind. Some of the states have already set a template for the others, having localised the HCD strategies to align with the peculiarities of their people while, of course, aligning them with the national strategy.”

The World Bank representatives at the meeting committed to strengthening the bank’s partnership with Nigeria to improve the country’s Human Capital Index and proposed senior-level stakeholder engagement to identify optimal areas for technical support.

There were also several speeches from representatives of Nigerian state governments, including Akwa Ibom and Lagos, as well as representatives of other local and international development organisations.

At World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting, VP Shettima Pushes For Nigeria’s HCD 2.0 Agenda

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