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Let’s join hands to defeat insecurity, Buhari tells parties’ leaders
Let’s join hands to defeat insecurity, Buhari tells parties’ leaders
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged all political parties in the country to keep elections and election-related differences aside and join the administration’s drive to defeat insecurity in the country.
Mr Femi Adesina, Buhari’s spokesman in a statement late Tuesday night, said the president made the call at an Iftar dinner with members of the business community and the leadership of political parties in Abuja.
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The presidential aide quoted the president as describing insecurity as a ‘‘common enemy’’ bedevilling the country.
The president said: ‘‘Without mass, popular support to our hard working Armed Forces, it will take us much longer to finish off the successful war we are waging against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
”Our country must be kept safe for progress and prosperity to be entrenched.
‘‘I look forward to seeing the reflection of this spirit in the relationship between the parties and the government, especially as the electioneering season will soon be on us.”
Buhari recounted that last week the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had tremendous success at its meeting, ending with a clear message that the party would continue to push for the establishment of democratic principles at all levels.
‘‘Today, we can proudly say that we have a political system that allows political parties of all views and persuasions, reflecting the diversity of our nation to co-exist, and contest for elections at all levels of government without fear or institutional bias and pressure’’.
On ease of doing business in the country, President Buhari revealed that his administration had done exceedingly well in improving the business climate.
He, therefore, urged the private sector to complement the government’s effort in poverty reduction and job creation for the young people.
‘‘No administration has done as much as we have done in the creation of a climate best suited for business, big and small, to thrive.
‘‘The ease of doing business index that is globally recognized has acknowledged that the ease with which business is carried out in the country has never been better than it is today. We will continue to make it better.
‘‘We will equally continue to count on the support of the private sector to improve economic growth and create new job opportunities for our teeming population.
‘‘Employment is critical to the stability and prosperity of our country. Government and the private sector, working together, have an opportunity to transform the lives of people in ways that were hard to imagine in the past,’’ he said.
The National Chairman of the APC, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, who spoke at the event, urged leaders of political parties to make firm commitments toward peaceful and successful 2023 general elections and challenged them to work in unison to achieve the purpose.
According to him, as leaders, leadership demands that they take responsibility for ensuring peace and stability and inspiring the party faithful and Nigerians to conform to the laws of the land in matters relating to electioneering and the elections.
Speaking on behalf of leaders of other political parties, Yusuf Yabagi, the Chairman of Action Democratic Party (ADP), who described the President as a true democrat, said the Iftar event and the invitation by the President have introduced ‘‘credibility, respect and admiration in the polity’’.
Yabagi, who is also the Coordinator Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), said:
‘‘The fact that political leaders of various political parties are sitting with you today speaks volumes that you are truly a democrat and believe in the project of growing democracy in this country,’’ he said.
He announced that IPAC was preparing to give the president an award as ‘‘Hero of Democracy’’, citing the historic signing into law of the Electoral Act, describing it as a paradigm shift that would guarantee peaceful, acceptable and all-inclusive elections in the country.
On the forthcoming elections, Yabagi said:
‘‘Mr President, history beckons on you. 2023 is going to be your glorious exit. That is our prayer and for that to happen you have to take charge of every activity that matters in the exercise’’.
The IPAC Coordinator, who commended INEC for innovation and reforms towards ensuring credible elections, appealed to the president to look into the role of security agencies in the forthcoming general elections.
‘‘Members of IPAC are worried by the programme of INEC that elected candidates will spend 10 months campaigning around the country. That is a herculean task.
‘‘We also want the President to consider the appointment of a Political Liaison Officer,’’ Yabagi said.
He noted that the office would ensure better coordination between the President’s office and political parties.
Commenting on the type of leader Nigeria needs after President Buhari, a representative of the business community and Group Managing Director, Sahara Group, Kola Adesina, said the next President of Nigeria must carry ‘‘the banner of hope for a new Nigeria, not a banner of self.’’
‘‘We are transitioning and I want to respectfully ask the President that anybody who comes around to show interest in leadership, you must ask them for their manifesto. Not what they want to do but how they want to do it.
‘‘The challenge has always been how, not what,’’ he said.
Adesina, who thanked the president for sustaining investments in infrastructure across the country, including the Second Niger Bridge, and the East-West Road, among others, stressed the need for continuity by the next government.
VP SHETTIMA AND THE ILLOGICAL PERMUTATIONS FOR 2027
By: Inuwa Bwala
As happened in 2023, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was to name his running mate, vested interests are again up in arms, trying to hoodwink or armstwist him into doing their bids.
What people forget, however, is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a master schemer and knows exactly what to do at the appropriate time. Contrary to what many people think, he has his own game plan and can not be compelled to play to the gallery.
In the last few weeks, I have read a plethora of writeups trying to give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu prescriptions on how to chart a new political course if he hopes to achieve his second term bid in the 2027 general elections.
Many of the write ups contain permutations in the event of the emergence of a perceived strong opposition and that unless he drops his Vice President for another person, he will have a difficult task.
As a student of political history, and given our experiences, I dare say that if Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima could win in the face of all the obstacles placed in their ways from within and from without there does not appear any threat to this same ticket in 2027.
I must confess that I have not yet met a shrewed political strategist in Nigeria like the President who against all permutations settled for Kashim Shettima neither am I aware of any politician who could be as loyal dedicated and determined to his Boss as Shettima has demonstrated over the years.
The game is already on, and the biggest threat to Tinubu in 2027 is indeed any attempt to shift the goalpost in the mu
middle of the game.
As far as I know, the combination has given a very good account of itself, and with the rays of hope beyond the immediate horizon, Kashim Shettima remains President Bola Ahmed Tinubu best choice
I am aware that people have been trying to drive a wedge between them by framing false narratives that are neither here nor there. So as not to embolden those who are heating up the polity unnecessarily, the silence maintained on political permutations remains the best by both the president and the vice president.
Silence on certain issues has paid off for both of them before, and it will again pay off.
When people thought Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sick and weak and may even die before the end of his first tenure, he maintained a golden silence on his health status and rather magnified it as real thereby tricking all Nigerians into believing it was true.
Now that he has proven to be healthy and strong, the voices that predicted a doom for the presidency are silent.
VP SHETTIMA AND THE ILLOGICAL PERMUTATIONS FOR 2027
Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region
By: Our Reporter
A deserter from the Niger Republic Armed Forces who reportedly joined the terrorist group Boko Haram has surrendered to local authorities in Kindjandi, located in the Diffa Region of southeastern Niger Republic.
The individual, identified as Abba Ibrahim, had been serving with the Nigerien Armed Forces since 2022 before deserting his post in Bosso on March 8, 2025, according to military intelligence sources. He fled alongside a fellow soldier, Bandam Dala, and subsequently joined a Boko Haram faction active in the Lake Chad area.
Security sources disclosed that Ibrahim surrendered on April 21, 2025, arriving in Kindjandi on horseback with a rifle. He was accompanied by an unidentified young man whose details are yet to be confirmed.
Ibrahim was taken into custody by the Nigerien Armed Forces on the morning of April 22, 2025, and is currently undergoing debriefing and interrogation by military intelligence.
The Diffa Region has remained a hotspot for insurgent activity due to its proximity to Lake Chad and border areas with Nigeria, where Boko Haram and other extremist groups operate.
Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region
National News
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
By: Michael Mike
The West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) has commended the initiative by ECOWAS to extend an invitation to the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger for the official launch of ECOWAS’ golden jubilee in Accra.
The Network, in a press statement on Tuesday, said it supports the initiative by ECOWAS to ease tensions and foster diplomacy in a bid to sustain the common heritage, shared history, and longstanding socio-cultural ties of the peoples.
The statement read: “As ECOWAS opens its doors and extends an arm of friendship and collaboration to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the Network encourages the three countries to reciprocate the gesture, upholding the spirit of good neighbourliness and cross-border cooperation. Such
cooperation is necessary now more than ever, especially as we require a concerted effort to confront matters of common interest to the subregion, such as security and trade.
“WADEMOS maintains the position that the restoration of trust and confidence between
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, on the one hand, and ECOWAS, on the other hand,
remains critical to sustaining cooperation and enhancing the free movement of goods and people. Building trust and confidence, we believe, is also critical to effectively combat the growing threat of terrorism across the subregion.
“Considering the close ties that exist among the West African peoples, WADEMOS
continues to urge the three Sahelian countries to be reconciliatory in their engagements with ECOWAS.”
WADEMOS is an independent and non-partisan network of diverse national and transnational civil society organisations and civic groups working to promote and defend democracy, good governance, and inclusive development in the West Africa region.
It mobilizes, coordinates, and leverages the collective voice and power of civil society and other pro-democracy actors, resources, and opportunities within the West Africa region to advance its mission. The current membership of WADEMOS stands at 47 spread across West Africa.
The WADEMOS Secretariat is based in Accra, Ghana.
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
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