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Rumblings in Plateau over move to recall Lalong, Dafaan, Venman

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Rumblings in Plateau over move to recall Lalong, Dafaan, Venman

By Mark Longyen

Plateau State has been thrown into political panic mode following a subterranean move by Plateau South senatorial zone’s constituents to recall former Gov Simon Lalong (APC-Plateau South) from the Senate.

Also penciled for recall by the aggrieved constituents are Lalong’s former Chief of Staff, John Dafaan (APC-Shendam, Quaan-Pan, Mikang) and Vincent Venman (APC-Langtang North/South) federal constituencies.

Impeccable sources disclosed that within the past week, over 500,000 constituents had already appended their signatures to initiate the recall of the trio from the National Assembly.

It was learned that about a fortnight ago, the forms for the recall of the three lawmakers were distributed across the six local governments that constitute the senatorial zone, which have now been signed by the constituents.

People familiar with the prevailing political intrigues said that any time this week, the signed forms by constituents from all the polling units will be collated and forwarded by the petitioners’ lawyers alongside their petitions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Thereafter, INEC is expected to send a team of its officials to the senatorial zone and the two federal constituencies for verification of the signatures.

Once the signatures are verified and confirmed in the various polling units that 50 per cent, plus one, of the total registered voters actually signed the recall forms, then INEC will within a statutory time frame, arrange for a referendum to be conducted to recall the lawmakers.

The referendum simply entails a “yes or no” voting by the constituents on whether to recall the lawmakers or not, which outcome is to be determined by a simple majority to declare a lawmaker automatically recalled or to retain his seat.

The sacking of Sen. Napoleon Bali (PDP-Plateau South, June 2023 to October 2023) by the Court of Appeal had paved the way for Lalong, whom he defeated in the 2023 senatorial election with an unprecedented landslide, to subsequently resign as minister of labour and productivity, to occupy the seat.

A source, who preferred not to be named, said that Bali is championing the recall move, although Bali himself could not independently confirm the latest development.

However, it would be recalled that shortly after his sack late last year, Bali had told newsmen that although as of then, he had not gone back to the senatorial zone after the judgement, he had it on good authority that his aggrieved constituents were already collecting signatures to initiate the recall process.

He had also disclosed that his legal team was weighing various options, including going back to the court to explore any window to review or remedy the injustice done to him and other fellow lawmakers.

According to him, being the victim of the brazen judicial gymnastics, he had the constitutional option of initiating a recall process against those who were brought to office by the Appeal Court judgment, or to live with it for the next three years.

The latest move seems to align with the earlier vow of Bali to unseat Lalong and co, as impeccable sources say plans have reached advanced stage by constituents to recall the embattled lawmakers.

“What the people of Plateau South senatorial district are saying is that they will not allow them.

“I don’t know what they want to do, but I was told reliably that people are already gathering signatures that they must recall them.

“This time around we are going to test INEC and the judiciary that installed them because that is the option we are sure of.

“Like I said, our lawyers are making all efforts to see whether there is a window. I’m not a lawyer; I don’t know how they are going to do it.

“But the one I’m very sure of is that all those who the Appeal Court collected our mandates and gave to them wrongfully, as concluded by the learned justices of the Supreme Court in Gov Mutfang’s case, we are definitely going to recall them.

“When? I will not tell you because it will just come to them as a rude shock.

“For the specifics, I can tell you that in Plateau South, I know that they have gathered over 300,000 signatures to recall Lalong already.

“That is already in the public domain. He is aware, his party, the APC is aware.

“By the time we get the required number of signatures, which is 50 per cent of the total registered voters, it’ll be a done deal, we’ll do it.

“We have the INEC current register; I will not tell you more than this because we keep that one close to our chest.

“As soon as we get the 50 per cent, we are going to write a petition, and our lawyers will follow it up from there to tell INEC to verify.

“Once that is done, INEC will have no option but to conduct a referendum and we take it up from there,” Bali, a retired Air Vice Marshal and fighter pilot, had assured.

Lalong, Dafaan and Venman were roundly defeated by Bali, Rep Isaac Kwallu and Beni Lar, who won the Plateau South, Shendam, Quaan-Pan, Mikang and Langtang North/South House of Reps seats, respectively, during the 2023 National Assembly polls.

Despite being the sitting governor of Plateau State from 2015 to 2023, and Director General of the 2023 Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation, Lalong was humiliated at the polls by Bali, who trounced him with an unprecedented vote margin of about 60,000.

The former governor was comprehensively defeated by Bali in all the 6 local governments that constitute his senatorial zone, including his own Shendam Local Government Area, except in Wase Local Government.

Dafaan was similarly floored by Kwallu in all the three local governments that constitute Shendam, Quaan-Pan, Mikang federal constituency, and in 31 out of the 32 federal wards in the area, including Dafaan’s Kwalla-Moeda federal ward, with an unprecedented vote margin.

Also, perennial winner and political Amazon, Rep Beni Lar (PDP-Langtang North/South was re-elected in the 2023 polls by her constituents following her landslide victory with a very wide margin against APC’s Venman, who was her closest opponent.

However, all the PDP lawmakers’ victories were controversially annulled by the Court of Appeal, on the technical ground that PDP did not have a legitimate political structure that produced them as candidates, thereby, truncating their tenures.

This was notwithstanding the fact that the case was a pre-election matter, which the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain in the first place.

Not a few observers had described the court’s curious decision as being a predetermined judicial compromise, while the Supreme Court later frowned at it and chided the Appeal Court, describing the decision as an act of judicial rascality.

Apparently miffed by the court’s decision to impose on them those who they rejected at the polls like being compelled to swallow unwanted bitter pills, the lawmakers’ constituents have now turned to the constitutionally sanctioned recall option as a last resort.

Reacting to the bid by constituents to recall Lalong and co, the Plateau State chapter of the APC described the action as a wasted effort that was informed by PDP’s “desperation and frustration to remove the lawmakers from their legitimate seats.”

Confirming the recall initiative, the state chapter of the APC in a statement issued on Saturday and signed by its acting Publicity Secretary, Shittu Bamaiyi, described the recall effort as merely a “PDP orchestrated recall campaign, a wild goose chase, and mission impossible.”

“For quite some time now the PDP in the southern part of Plateau State, has embarked on a wild goose chase, in the name of recall campaign against these members of the National Assembly.

“The party has unrelentingly and agonizingly, been cajoling unsuspecting eligible voters to append their signatures on worthless sheet of papers, as a means of recalling Senator Simon Lalong and Chief John Dafaan from the Red and Green Chambers, respectively.

“The desperation and frustration of the PDP seem to know no bounds, to the extent that the party is so blinded to the constitutional requirements of initiating, as well as embarking on such a herculean exercise,” the APC stated.

According to the party, the PDP has thrown caution and decorum to the winds by embarking on the recall process against the lawmakers.

“By using all sorts of shenanigans and deceits to cow people into appending their names on papers, under the pretext of making them enjoy some palliatives and loans from the federal government as well as the state governments.

“Though the unsuspecting electorate have been suspicious of the promises, and taking them with the pinch of salt, the hirelings assigned the responsibility of the misadventure, have unblushingly continued to move round all the nooks and cranny of the Southern zone to collect signatures for the futile exercise.

“It is unfortunate that the PDP could condescend to that level of desperation, when viewed from the prism of civility and propriety, as well as considering the fact that, the legislators in question have hardly spent one year in their respective chambers,” the APC further said.

“Unarguably, a recall exercise is an electoral and constitutional process which can be initiated against wanting or incompetent legislators as the case may be, there must always be overwhelming justification for such a cause.

“Undoubtedly, the narcissistic attitude of the PDP will certainly come to naught, sooner than later, because from all indications, the legislators are at the moment, enjoying the support of their constituents not withstanding their short stay in the National Assembly.

“In addition, the APC as a party, and other interest groups, are closely monitoring events as they unfold, with a view to checkmating the misadventure.

“Without any fear of the unknown, the campaign is surely going to be a mission impossible and a disgrace at the end of it all,” Bamaiyi added.

When contacted for comments on the development, Rep. Kwallu, one of the lawmakers sacked by the Court of Appeal and Dafaan’s predecessor, confirmed that the recall move by the constituents was true.

He explained that the recall process is provided for in the Nigerian constitution, which empowers constituents to recall their elected representative at any time, stressing that there is no cause for alarm.

Jimmy Lar, a political gladiator from the senatorial zone, while commenting on the APC’s statement describing the recall process as a desperate move by PDP, justified the ground for the initiative.

He asked rhetorically: “Who is the desperate one between someone who stole what doesn’t belong to him or her and the one who is making all lawful efforts to recover his or her stolen item?

“It’s the right of an owner to go to any length to recover his stolen property.

“When you are robbed, you tell people, approach the lawful authorities and take all necessary measures to recover your stolen items from the robber(s).

“Whether or not you are able to bring the thief to justice is not for the thief to decide, it’s for time to decide,” he said.

Simon Shindai, a lawyer, constituent, and APC member, while confirming that he was fully aware of the recall bid, alleged that some stakeholders, mostly from the state’s ruling PDP, were behind the recall move.

According to him, some PDP chieftains are strategizing, working round the clock, and leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the recall agenda is carried out seamlessly to achieve the desired result within the next six to twelve months, and warned the APC not to treat the issue with kid gloves.

“It is not a joke because it is a serious constitutional matter that is outlined in the 1999 Constitution, so once these processes are met, then INEC will definitely go ahead and conduct a referendum, which outcome could be a big shocker for the lawmakers in question,” he said.

Also commenting on the issue, Alhassan Barde, an APC supporter, said that APC as a political party that knows and has tasted power, and is still in power at the centre and elsewhere, should do more than just mere press statements.

“The party should be strategic in handling critical matters that are pending and have been left unadressed, matters that have emerged (like the one at hand), and those at the horizon with the potential to affect its present structure, and the chances that lie ahead for greater fortunes.

“Remember, your opponent in whatever contest, would employ and deploy all manner of tactics to rattle and weaken your immune system and then launch attacks on your defence mechanisms.

“All that we are doing is a clarion call to APC to wake up now, and do something about it,” he said.

Lalong, while reacting to the recall move by his constituents, through his Legislative aide, Hon. Exodus Pyennap, acknowledged being aware of it but described the initiative as an effort in futility that is baseless and dead on arrival.

He said that the first requirement for a recall process to be considered by INEC is for the constituent petitioners to have a solid ground for the recall, such as failure, misconduct, corruption, non-performance or some sort of official misdemeanor against their representative, which are all unfounded  in the instant case.

“So, the entire hullabaloo is an effort that is baseless and futile, INEC will not even bother to act on it,” Lalong said.

Lar and Dafaan could not immediately be reached for comments on the issue as of the time of filing this report. Dafaan did not answer or return the several phone calls made to him.

Rumblings in Plateau over move to recall Lalong, Dafaan, Venman

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Gates Foundation Promises Continued Committed to Revitalization of Public Healthcare In Nigeria

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Gates Foundation Promises Continued Committed to Revitalization of Public Healthcare In Nigeria

By: Michael Mike

The Gates Foundation has expressed its full commitment to the development of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) in the country.

The commitment was expressed by The Deputy Director, Health Systems Strengthening at Gates Foundation Nigeria,
Dr. Nkata Chuku, during the PHC Leadership Challenge in Abuja, put together by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Gates Foundation and other development partners.

Chuku said the Foundation remains fully aligned with the government of Nigeria’s determination to revitalize primary health care.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and development partners, including UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) supported the event.

He also noted that the 2025 performance landscape emerging from national surveys, high-frequency monitoring, and administrative data shows both progress and gaps in the country’s health systems.

According to him, routine immunization continues its upward trajectory, with national percentage coverage now in the high-60s, and several states crossing 75%, compared to the low-60s in 2022.

He said between July 2024 and October 2025, more than 500,000 previously zero-dose children were reached with vaccines through house-to-house outreach and targeted immunization activities.

Chuku said this represents about 24% of the estimated 2.1 million zero-dose children nationwide, reflecting significant progress through integrated campaigns including the October 2025 polio–routine immunization drive.

According to him, there is a notable decline in cVPV2 cases, dropping from triple-digit cases in 2022–2023 to fewer than 50 confirmed cases in the last 12 months and a significant closure of immunity gaps in historically weak LGAs.

About the PHC Challenge, Chuku said: “The PHC Challenge Fund is designed to accelerate precisely this type of progress. The Gates Foundation has invested $27 million, with 70% dedicated to performance awards over the past four years to fund this initiative as proof of concept.

“The current award structure of one national winner and additional awards for the best and second runners up states across all six geopolitical zones is intentional. It reflects your stated preference for peer accountability and healthy competition, recognizing that states within the same zone often face similar health-system realities.

“Over the past three years: UNICEF, NPHCDA, and the NGF Secretariat have worked closely with Commissioners, SPHCDA Executive Secretaries, and Governors to continuously refine and track a lean but powerful set of indicators to measure the health of the PHC system across the 36+1 states.

He said: “These indicators focus on areas where state leadership is decisive: political leadership, community empowerment, financial resource allocation, quality of care, monitoring and evaluation, sustainable PHC financing. These system inputs are critical for driving impact across routine immunization, MNCH, malaria, and nutrition.”

He also said the ongoing PHC revitalization agenda has renewed political commitment at state level, adding that more states now have dedicated PHC budget lines and are expanding health insurance enrolment while the integrated polio–RI campaign offers a unified delivery platform to rapidly close immunity gaps.

According to him, development partners have signalled interest in expanding the pool of incentives for high-performing states.

The minister of health, Muhammad Ali Pate, during the occasion lauded Gates Foundation for their investment in PHC revitalisation in the country.

He said government have been intervening to lower the cost of drugs, cost of medical treatment, child health insurance and would still increase the budget for health.

Pate said: “ If we are going to see good health, it is an investment. We cannot expect good health at a very low price. Someone has invested, and here, who is going to be in charge is going to have to invest in health. And investing in health has several multilayers. First, it is a good investment not only for the present and also for the future of the country.

“So, we need to not only invest in health but also see the health system and the environment as a whole. So, government has been intervening to lower the cost of drugs, cost of medical treatment, child health insurance, but it is not going to be able to succeed just like that already.”

During the award ceremony, Yobe State emerged the overall winner of the PHC Leadership Challenge, outperforming other states in an independently verified assessment and wining the total sum of $1.2m.

The assessment measures governance, financing, service delivery and accountability within PHC systems.

The annual challenge, which rewards measurable improvements in state-level PHC performance, aims to strengthen accountability, peer learning and sustained political commitment to PHC reforms across Nigeria

Gates Foundation Promises Continued Committed to Revitalization of Public Healthcare In Nigeria

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Foundation donates food to 500 women in Abuja

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Foundation donates food to 500 women in Abuja

By: Michael Mike

Walkiya Humanitarian Foundation has stepped in to provide relief for vulnerable residents of the Federal Capital Territory, distributing food items to 500 women in the Jikwoyi area of Karu, Abuja.

The outreach, which took place on Saturday, formed part of the foundation’s annual humanitarian intervention aimed at cushioning the effects of rising food costs and helping households struggling to meet basic nutritional needs.

Addressing beneficiaries at the event, the Executive Director of the foundation, Dr. Dominic Egwuda, explained that the initiative was designed to reach individuals facing immediate food insecurity, particularly women who often shoulder the responsibility of feeding their families.

He explained that the food distribution exercise is part of the corporate social responsibility of the Walkiya Group of Companies, implemented through the Walkiya Humanitarian Foundation to support vulnerable citizens amid economic hardship.

He said: “This is a part of our social corporate responsibility of Walkiya Group of Company, which we operate under the umbrella of Walkiya Humanitarian Foundation.”

Egwuda stressed that beneficiaries were carefully selected across religious, ethnic and social lines, with the sole criterion being the inability to afford basic meals, in order to ensure inclusiveness and fairness.

“We needed people who cannot afford their next meal,people we have carefully selected from all cross of lives, Christian, Muslim, different tribes.”

He noted that women were prioritised because they bear the greatest burden of hunger within families, adding that empowering women directly has a wider societal impact.

“A woman is the one that bears the brunt of hunger in the family. And in doing this, if you empower a woman, you empower a nation.”

Egwuda further explained that the programme follows a transparent card-based selection process, excludes staff and their relatives, and is fully funded by the Walkiya Group of Companies, without government sponsorship.

“I don’t think any of our staff have anybody here because we stopped them ,we are not in partnership with any government. It is a welfare group of company that sponsored this program.”

He called on government to prioritise the welfare of the less privileged and to create an enabling framework that encourages more corporate organisations to invest in social responsibility initiatives.

“The government should look into the less privileged, create an enabling environment for people to do more social corporate responsibility.”

Egwuda disclosed that the food distribution exercise, which took about six months of planning and expanded from an initial target of 200 beneficiaries to 500, was valued at approximately four to five million naira.

“Estimatingly, we spent about four to five million naira to make sure that this thing goes round.”

Some of the beneficiaries described the gesture as timely and impactful. Janet Kalu said the food items would provide much-needed support for her household, especially during the festive period.

“This support came at the right time for my family, especially now that prices of food items are very high. The food we received will really help us during this festive period,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Amaka Emmanuel, expressed appreciation to the foundation, noting that the assistance would reduce the burden of providing daily meals for her family.

“I am very grateful to the foundation for this kind gesture. The food items will go a long way in supporting my family and easing our daily struggles,” she said.

She also offered prayers for the donors, asking for divine reward and replenishment of their resources.

“May God Almighty bless the people who made this possible and replenish whatever they have spent. I pray that God will reward them abundantly,” she added.

The foundation, in a message to stakeholders, called on government and the private sector to strengthen collaboration in addressing hunger and social welfare challenges.

“With stronger partnerships between government and corporate organisations, we can reach more vulnerable people and significantly reduce hunger and hardship in our communities,” the foundation stated.

Foundation donates food to 500 women in Abuja

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VP SHETTIMA AT EXECUTIVE COURSE 47 GRADUATION: President Tinubu Poised To Remodel NIPSS Into Digitally Driven, Global Centre Of Excellence

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VP SHETTIMA AT EXECUTIVE COURSE 47 GRADUATION: President Tinubu Poised To Remodel NIPSS Into Digitally Driven, Global Centre Of Excellence

  • Says institute’s research outputs will be fully integrated into national decision making, execution frameworks

By: Our Reporter

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has reaffirmed the resolve of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remodel the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) into a globally recognised centre of excellence that is digitally driven and financially stable by 2030.

According to him, apart from serving as the most strategic platform for developing thinkers, reformers, and innovators in Nigeria, the institute’s Senior Executive Course represents a deliberate investment in the nation’s future leadership as well as a meeting point for ideas that define policy, guide reform, and influence the course of national development.

Senator Shettima stated this on Saturday when he represented President Tinubu at the Graduation Ceremony of Senior Executive Course 47 of NIPSS in Kuru, Plateau State.

“His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been unequivocal in his commitment to supporting NIPSS in its transformation agenda, particularly its ambition to become a digitally driven, financially stable, and globally recognised centre of excellence by 2030.

“We recognise the Institute’s critical role in shaping national policy and in building the leadership capacity required to navigate an increasingly complex world,” he declared.

The Vice President noted that the support the Tinubu administration is giving to transform the institute exceeds funding, infrastructure and conducive research environment.

He said, “Our support must therefore go beyond funding, infrastructure, and a conducive research environment. It must ensure that NIPSS produces implementation ready policy papers and that its outputs are fully integrated into national decision making and execution frameworks.”

VP Shettima applauded the theme of the Senior Executive Course 47, “Blue Economy and Sustainable Development in Nigeria,” saying it is a reflection of the urgency with remarkable clarity, and “captures the reality that development, security, environmental stewardship, and social inclusion are inseparable.”

He however observed that the strength of the academic work does not depend only on its academic depth, “but in its insistence that policy must be practical, implementable, and firmly grounded in Nigeria’s realities.”

Commending the graduands, the VP said “We are grateful for your sustained and rigorous enquiries into the affairs of the maritime domain, enquiries that continue to provide the nation with insights it depends upon.

“Your latest research makes it clear that securing Nigeria’s waterways, coastlines, and inland communities goes far beyond safety alone. It speaks to livelihoods, food security, environmental protection, and national cohesion. When young people have productive work, when communities trust the state, and when institutions coordinate effectively, insecurity loses its oxygen.”

Assuring that the Tinubu administration takes evidence based policymaking very seriously, the Vice President said he had already directed relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to give the report and recommendations of the graduands the close attention they deserve, both for immediate application and for long term strategic planning.”

He thanked the Director General, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, the management and staff of NIPSS, for what he described as their dedication, professionalism, and unflicnhing commitment, which he said has continued “to uphold NIPSS as the nation’s foremost centre for strategic thought and leadership development.”

The VP also hailed Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang and people of the state for continuing to support NIPSS by sustaining the peaceful environment that has enabled the “Institute to function as a true national asset.”

Earlier, Governor Mutfwang applauded the Federal Government’s support to the institute, particularly in facilitating the hitch-free completion of its academic programmes as well as the execution of its other strategic projects and mandate.

Underscoring the importance of academic programmes at the institution, Governor Mutfwang noted that Nigeria stands to benefit immensely from the research output of the institution, particularly in broadening governance perspective and making valuable recommendations in addressing security across the country.

On his part, Chairman of the NIPSS Board, Senator Ken Nnamani, said the pathways to addressing some of the nation’s challenges can be found in the research reports of research institutions across the country, urging authorities at the national and subnational levels to adopt products of the institute.

While charging members of the SEC 47 to be worthy ambassadors of the institution, Senator Nnamani expressed confidence in the commitment of the Tinubu administration to continue to support research endeavours at NIPSS, and implement key research findings of academic institutions across the country, including NIPSS.

In his welcome address, the Director General of NIPSS, Prof. Omotayo, said the Vice President’s presence at the SEC 47 graduation ceremony underscores the Federal Government’s recognition of the institute as the premier research institute for the advancement of Nigeria’s policy and governance framework.

Reeling out some of the institute’s achievements anchored on its 5-year strategic plan, Prof. Omotayo said NIPSS has completed key institutional research endeavours in collaboration with international partners in key areas, including crisis anticipation and adaptive governance.

The DG said with the achievements, NIPSS has established itself as the premier institute for policy research aimed at rebuilding public trust and addressing emerging societal challenges.

In a goodwill message, the President of the NIPSS Alumni (AANI), Amb. Emmanuel Okafor, thanked the Vice President for his relentless support to the institute and acknowledged all of the transformative projects executed under the present management of the institute.

On his part, the Monitor-General of the Course 47, Col. Muhktar Sani Daroda, said the rigour and intensity of the programme has shaped and prepared the course participants for tasks across different sectors, even as he pledged their rededicated commitment and service to the nation.

Highpoint of the occasion was the formal presentation of certificates to the graduands by the Vice President and their induction into the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI).

Earlier on arrival at the institute, the Vice President inaugurated 4 units of 2-bedroom apartment built and donated to the institute by the SEC 47 participants.

Meanwhile, Senator Shettima has held an interaction with strawberry farmers in Plateau State, in furtherance to efforts by the Federal Government to support the production of fruits in the state.

He said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains committed to transforming all segments of Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.

VP SHETTIMA AT EXECUTIVE COURSE 47 GRADUATION: President Tinubu Poised To Remodel NIPSS Into Digitally Driven, Global Centre Of Excellence

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