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FG has Strategies in Place to Tackle Violent Extremism- Monguno

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FG has Strategies in Place to Tackle Violent Extremism- Monguno

FG has Strategies in Place to Tackle Violent Extremism- Monguno

By: Michael Mike, Abuja

The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd) on Thursday said the Federal Government has adopted a soft approach to tackle the security challenges in the country by developing a Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE).

Monguno noted this in Abuja when he was represented by the Coordinator of the Counter Terrorism Center, Rear Admiral Yaminu Musa at the National Conference on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism  (PCVE) in Nigeria organized by ActionAction Nigeria and funded by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). 

He said a document tagged “Partnering for Safer and Resilient Communities”, provides the framework for programming and engagements on PCVE in Nigeria and recognizes the integrated roles of government agencies with the larger society as critical by adopting a “Whole-of-Government” and a “Whole-of-Society approach”. 

He added that the Policy Framework encourages the active participation of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government, as well as critical stakeholders from different sectors of the civil society such as religious actors, youth, teachers, women, law enforcement, the media and community based organization. 

He said: “This is essential in order to build networks of peace that create safe and resilient communities across Nigeria, in which human rights and the rule of law guide the approach to combating violent extremism.

“We have improved the execution of our National Counter Terrorism Strategy which is an important framework for coordinating Nigeria’s counter terrorism efforts and mainstreaming the rule of law while bringing terrorists to justice.”

Also, the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria , Ene Obi said there has been worrying trends in recent years with the threat of radicalism and violent extremism. 

Also Read: UNODC Raises Alarm Over Increase Heroin Availability in…

She lamented that Nigeria still ranks 3rd in the category of most terrorized countries in the world just after Afghanistan and Iraq, following statistics drawn from the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. 

She said the gap between the least and most peaceful countries in the world continues to grow as Nigeria ranks 136th in the recently released Global Peace Index (GPI) report (2021) by the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP). 

According to her, the theme of the National conference PCVE which is localization of the policy framework and national action plan for PCVE aligns with ActionAid Nigeria’s objective to build sustainable peace through the System and Structure Strengthening Approach against Radicalization to Violent Extremism (SARVE 11) project implemented in Kongo and Nasarawa states with funding from the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). 

She said they have successfully engaged 20,800 youth with 1,614 persons (Youth -600 men, 505 women: 509 adult women) supported with valuable life skills and  starter packs which keeps them productivity occupied , reducing their vulnerability to violent extremist recruitments. 

She further said they have successfully graduated 3,000 youth ambassadors from our annual peace camp with all deployed with 24 communities in Kogi and Nasarrawa state as peace agents.

FG has Strategies in Place to Tackle Violent Extremism- Monguno

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NAN, AWALCO Partners to Promote ECOWAS Parliament

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NAN, AWALCO Partners to Promote ECOWAS Parliament

By: Michael Mike

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has pledged to partner the Association of West African Legislative Correspondents (AWALCO) to publicise the activities of the ECOWAS Parliament, particularly its 25th anniversary celebrations.

The Managing Director of the agency, Malam Ali Muhammad Ali,, made the pledge when the leadership of the association paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Thursday.

Ali while expressing appreciation to the association’s officials for deeming it worthy to pay him a courtesy visit, said as Africa’s biggest news content provider, NAN was home to all.

He said: “For deeming it worthy to come and pay us this courtesy call, the agency is appreciative.

“We hope that it will help the Parliament achieve its goals, and raise awareness, like you said, about its activities.

“On our part, the News Agency of Nigeria, like you know, is Africa’s biggest news content provider.”

He noted that the agency is the most authentic and biggest news hub in Africa, with a domineering influence and reach within the West African subregion.

Ali said: “So, with an association like this, certainly in the News Agency of Nigeria, you find a soulmate, a fellow traveler. You are welcome. We look forward to partnering and doing more, and the News Agency of Nigeria is your home.”

Speaking earlier, AWALCO President, Mr Innocent Odoh, explained that the purpose of the visit was to seek the collaboration and support of NAN, as the indisputable leader in terms of news credibility reportage, and viability.

He said that ECOWAS Parliament would be marking its 25th anniversary on November 16 and a series of activities had been lined up for it.

Odoh said that AWALCO, being the association of the parliament’s press corps, was fully involved in it by way of planning to give the occasion a media and publicity glitz.

He said this would help to propagate the ideals of ECOWAS in general, and ECOWAS Parliament in particular, and make the objectives of ECOWAS Commission and Parliament known globally, starting from the subregion.

He said: “In terms of viability, if we talk about the repository of news in all ramifications, in all dimensions, I think the News Agency of Nigeria comes first before any other one.

“So, what we are doing is in line with the media advocacy that we are projecting for the ECOWAS Parliament at 25.

“We can see that if the collaboration with NAN takes off as we planned it, I think it will go a long way in expanding the vision of the association.”

The AWALCO president further said that the partnership would determine how the regional bloc is run, especially at a time that so many things about ECOWAS needed to be interrogated.

“That is why we’re here, to seek that collaboration, to seek that support, how we can deepen that collaboration to ensure that the citizens of the Parliament understand what is happening around them.

“ECOWAS has a vision of 2050 but many people may not be aware of it, but collaborations like this can open up an opportunity for people to understand the vision of ECOWAS,” he added

on her part, Chief Communication Officer, ECOWAS Parliament, Mrs Uche Duru,, who was part of the delegation, in a remark, extended greetings from ECOWAS Parliament Speaker and Secretary-General to Ali and NAN’s management.

The spokesperson for the parliament said the association was beyond Nigeria, as its membership encompassed the entire West Africa, including even from member states that were threatening to exit or had already exited.

NAN, AWALCO Partners to Promote ECOWAS Parliament

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Nigeria, China May Head for Diplomatic Row Over Shooting of Immigration Officer at Chinese Firm

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Nigeria, China May Head for Diplomatic Row Over Shooting of Immigration Officer at Chinese Firm

By: Michael Mike

Nigeria is not taking lightly the shooting of an immigration officer at a Chinese firm in Jos, Plateau State.

The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo who narrated the story,
The federal government has threatened a serious diplomatic row with the Republic of China over maltreatment of a Nigerian Immigration Service officer shot by a Chinese company in Nigeria for asking for the company’s expatriate list.

Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who narrated the story on Thursday in Abuja at a stakeholders sensitisation workshop on the implementation of the Nigeria Visa policy 2025, said Nigeria is not handling the matter with kid gloves as it would be taken up as a diplomatic issue.

Tunji-Ojo lamented that the development alone is an attack on Nigeria. It will never be condoned.

He said the Immigration officer, who was on official duty, had visited the Chinese company in Jos, Plateau state, to check the list of the company’s expatriates, but the owner of the company ordered a security officer in the premises to shoot the government official.

Tunji-Ojo said: “I won’t go to China as a Nigerian, open a company and tell my security to shoot a government official in uniform. It’s never done anywhere in the world.

“These officers put their lives on the line. These officers serve this country with their all. And you will not come from anywhere and ask them to shoot them in their fatherland.

“It will no longer happen. We will take it up with you. Because that company, we (Nigerian government) have the power to withdraw their business permit Nigeria and declare them illegal.”

He wondered how it had become an offence for an Immigration officer to visit a foreign company and demand to see their expatriate list.

He said: “It will not happen again. So we’re going to be very hard. We will not stop your business. We will not overburden your business. But don’t make us inferior in our own land. No, please.

“And we’re going to be very tough on this. Because talking to you, I’m not just talking with passion on this topic, I’m talking with a lot of anger, because that guy that was shot is a Nigeria that we all swore to protect by virtue of the laws of Nigeria, by the constitution. That Immigration guy was not shot by a terrorist, is a father, he is a son to somebody. He is a husband to somebody. That cannot happen anywhere in the world.

“We will not tolerate it. Please, no agent, no company is above the law,” the Minister declared

Nigeria, China May Head for Diplomatic Row Over Shooting of Immigration Officer at Chinese Firm

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Nigeria Explores CNG Technology to Power Defence, Industrial Vehicle Fleets

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Nigeria Explores CNG Technology to Power Defence, Industrial Vehicle Fleets

By: Michael Mike

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar has led a high-level delegation on a tour of UROVESA—a renowned Spanish manufacturer of military and industrial vehicles.
The visit focused on exploring potential collaboration in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) technology for powering Nigeria’s defence and industrial vehicle fleets.

The minister was accompanied on the visit by key figures including the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo; Presidential CNG Initiative representative, Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi; Engr. Henry Oki; and the Special Assistant for Gas Business and Investment to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), where they all engaged in detailed discussions with UROVESA executives.

During the visit, Tuggar emphasized the longstanding trade ties between Nigeria and Spain, noting that Spain remains one of Nigeria’s top trading partners, with Nigerian crude oil exports reaching $3.64 billion in 2023.

He lauded UROVESA’s innovative approach to producing all-terrain, armoured, tactical, and logistical vehicles, and expressed Nigeria’s growing interest in and implementation of CNG-powered solutions.

Tuggar also highlighted Nigeria’s business-friendly economic reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, which have positioned the country as a prime destination for investment in clean energy technologies. The discussions provided a valuable platform for further exploration of future collaborations between UROVESA and Nigeria’s Ministry of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) in CNG-powered vehicle production and supply.

According to a statement by the foreign affairs minister spokesman, Alkasim AbdulKadir, the engagement not only reinforced Nigeria’s commitment to a green energy future but also laid the groundwork for modernizing the nation’s defence and industrial fleets with environmentally friendly and cost-effective energy solutions.

He said the promising outcome of the discussions sets the stage for a strategic partnership that is expected to foster sustainable innovation and drive economic growth for both Nigeria and UROVESA.

Nigeria Explores CNG Technology to Power Defence, Industrial Vehicle Fleets

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