National News
Nigerian Govt. to introduce online tracking system for passport application

Nigerian Govt. to introduce online tracking system for passport application
The Federal Government will in May introduce a system online for the tracking and monitoring of passport applications.
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said this at the opening of a two-day workshop for Passport Control Officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service in Abuja on Tuesday.
Aregbesola revealed that the Federal Government had concluded plans to launch a system that would lead to minimal interaction between passport applicants and immigration officers.
The minister said apart from the National Identity Number verification and linking, there should be no other major reason for the delay in issuing passports.
“Not later than a month from today, applicants will be able to track their application online to know precisely what stage is application. You will not have the hassle of people coming. Just go online with your reference number to check and it will state whether you are having a NIN problem.
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“It will tell you the status of your application. It will tell you whether your passport is ready and you can pick it up. This will be a month from now by the Grace of God,” he added.
He said the waiting time for fresh passports should not be more than six weeks while for passport renewal, it should not exceed three weeks.
The minister added, “We have adopted a maximum processing period of six weeks. It can be less but it should not be more. If it is more, let it be rare, let it be caused by an external factor, not you. To obtain fresh passports, it should be a maximum of three weeks. It can be less for the renewal.”
Aregbesola warned immigration officers against sharp practices even as he advised them to treat passport applicants as customers.
He said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had approved the full deployment of technology and before the end of the year, drastic changes would be made.
“Very soon, you will not see any passport applicants. Very soon there will be no files. Technology has provided so much succour for whoever wants to be efficient. That will be before the end of this year. Passport processing will be absolutely digitised. As it is impossible to see the air, it will be impossible for anybody to even know which passport is going where. It will just be in the system.
“We will get to a stage where no passport applicant will meet any immigration officer in the process of processing passports and there will be no manual documentation of that process,” the minister added.
Speaking on the theme ‘Effective and Efficient Service Delivery: An Imperative for Maximising the Gains of Passport Reforms Towards a Seamless Passport Issuance’, the Assistant-Comptroller-General in Charge of Passports and Other Travels Directorates, NIS, Modupe Anyalechi, said the primary purpose of the function was to bring passport officers to speed on the ongoing passport reforms.
She said the aim was to make the process of passport issuance seamless without compromising the integrity of the travel document.
National News
VP SHETTIMA AND THE ILLOGICAL PERMUTATIONS FOR 2027

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
National News
Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region

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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