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VP SHETTIMA AT NISS GRADUATION CEREMONY: ‘We Must Form Global Alliances To End External Aggressions, Domestic Threats’
VP SHETTIMA AT NISS GRADUATION CEREMONY: ‘We Must Form Global Alliances To End External Aggressions, Domestic Threats’
- Urges graduands to move against transnational crime, terrorism, others
By: Our Reporter
The Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima, has drawn attention to the need for Nigeria and other African countries to form global alliances to tame crises caused by external aggressions and domestic threats.
Specifically, he noted that Nigeria and other countries are saddled with the responsibility of protecting their citizens from transnational crimes, including terrorism, climate change and cyber crime, among other global crises.
The Vice President who spoke on Saturday during the graduation ceremony of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 16, 2023 of the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) in Abuja told the graduands that they are the great minds armed with the required knowledge to combat these external aggressions and domestic threats in a bid to maintain regional stability on the continent.
Delivering his speech titled, “From Crisis to Stability: Our Shared Global Responsibility,” Sen. Shettima listed cutting-edge knowledge, transformative skills and innovative ideas such as the one acquired by graduands from NISS as necessary for Nigeria and its neighbours to protect their nations from threats within their borders and beyond.
He stated: “Every part of the world today has been working around the clock to form alliances to stop external aggressions and forge solutions to domestic threats. This practical approach is crucial to tame crises and drive stability.
“However, none of these aspirations can be realised without the stewardship of trained minds at the helm of institutions tasked with the solemn duty of making decisions to safeguard lives, defend properties, and preserve peace. This is why we are here.
“You are here because you have chosen to be the custodians of this responsibility, the torchbearers of knowledge and expertise essential for steering the course towards a safer world. Your presence here today is, without a doubt, a celebration—a celebration of the integration of strategic ideas and decisive action, the cornerstone upon which a secure and harmonious world stands poised to thrive.”
Noting that past happenings in Nigeria confirm that the country is as vulnerable as the world around it, VP Shettima said “anything that disrupts wheat production in Asia, crude oil production in the Middle East or commodity market in Africa brings consequences for the entire world.
“I have learned that this cohort, the sixteenth of the flagship program in this institution, has studied the consequences of our existence in a globalized economy on our sustainable development, and I am impressed by your ambition.
“We have found ourselves not only at the crossroads of an era where the world has become a global village, connected through an invisible web of technological advancements, economic interdependence, and social exchange but also challenged to prepare for the disruptions that come with it,” he added.
The VP reminded the graduands that the task before them is to join in the bid to address the situation, saying, “We are tasked with the responsibility of protecting our people as transnational crime, terrorism, climate change, and pandemics loom large as formidable adversaries.
“We don’t need a balance of threat theorist to remind us that these geopolitical tensions demand a collective, cohesive response. We have proven again and again that we can never be an annex of any invidious group or be held ransom by any evil ideology. We have averted descent into a war economy because of this conviction, and believe that modern warfare isn’t waged on the field alone.”
Stating that they were not only coming to help Africa manage the crises, he said the graduands also have the task of ensuring no African country is short-changed in building regional economic integration amid crisis, as well as bear the mantle of fostering regional stability.
Expressing delight with the idea that the graduands are not only Nigerians, as some of them are from neighboring countries, Sen. Shettima said, “Your role, esteemed graduates of the National Institute for Security Studies, extends far beyond the boundaries of our nation.
“You are the guardians of regional stability, the ambassadors of peace, and the architects of sustainable development across and beyond the continent. Your commitment to excellence, coupled with your unwavering determination, makes you the pillars upon which the future of our region stands.”
Earlier, Commandant of NISS, Ayodele Adeleke, explained that the Executive Management Course is aimed at producing committed managers of security, describing the graduation ceremony as a milestone in the professional development of the graduands.
He said 89 participants started the course, with six of them from African countries, but died before the end of the 10 month course, even as he later conferred the prestigious title of fellow of the security institute (Fsi) on all the graduands.
On his part, the Director General of Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, commended the Commandant and management of the Institute for taking the citadel of learning to greater heights.
He availed himself the opportunity provided by ceremony to admonish the people of Plateau State to eschew violence and embrace peace to give room for development.
Bichi who pledged more support for the National Institute for Security Studies expressed his commitment to improving the welfare of personnel of the Department of State Services.
Other dignitaries at the graduation ceremony were Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, represented by Chairman Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Sen Shehu Umar; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of State Police Affairs, Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim; representatives of Jigawa and Yobe State Governors, and business mogul, Mr Femi Otedola, represented by Col Olusegun Oladuntoye (rtd).
Others are Group Chief Executive Officer NNPC, Mele Kyari; representatives of IGP, Chief of Air Staff; EFCC Chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede; former Governor of Bauchi State, Barr Mohammed Abibakar, Ooni of Ife, HRM Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ojaja II; Dein of Agbor, Dein Keagborekuzi, and Chief Kola Karim.
VP SHETTIMA AT NISS GRADUATION CEREMONY: ‘We Must Form Global Alliances To End External Aggressions, Domestic Threats’
Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
•••771 to Graduate in Nigeria in 2025
•••Otuaro Hails Scholars’ Performances
By: Michael Mike
Nine students awarded foreign post-graduate scholarships by the Presidential Amnesty Programme have graduated from their master’s degree rprogrammes in universities in the United Kingdom.
The successful scholars are the first graduates in the offshore post-graduate scholarship deployment to UK institutions by the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, for the 2024-2025 academic session.
They graduated from the Anglia Ruskin University, University of Dundee and The University of Law with master’s degrees in cyber security, data science and engineering, law, construction and civil engineering management, project management, and ICT.
Also, 711 undergraduate and post-graduate scholarship beneficiaries are expected to graduate from universities within Nigeria this year.
The PAP, on Wednesday, 3 December, 2025, organised a graduation reception for the scholars in London.
Otuaro has congratulated them on their successful graduation, stressing that they completed their programmes in record time which shows the seriousness they had put into their studies.
He said they have justified the Federal Government’s investment in their education with their successful graduation, and urged other beneficiaries not to be distracted in their academic pursuits.
“We congratulate these scholars on their successful graduation. It shows that they took their studies seriously. That is what we demand of every scholarship beneficiary, whether at the undergraduate or post-graduate level”, Otuaro said.
He reiterated his unwavering commitment to expanding the scholarship scheme to create more opportunities for indigent students of Niger Delta extraction to access higher education with a view to closing the human capital development gap in the region.
Otuaro said it was for this reason he deployed 3800 beneficiaries in-country in the 2024-2025 academic year, and increased the figure to 3900 in the 2025-2026 academic session with 200 for foreign scholarships.
Otuaro has so far deployed 7700 students for the PAP scholarship scheme within Nigeria in less than two years.
Within this period, also, he has also deployed 162 students from the region for post-graduate programmes in targeted disciplines in the UK universities.
According to him, this is in conformity with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu for the Niger Delta, who has given unprecedented support to the PAP because of his sincere love for the area.
The PAP boss said, “Our decision aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for the Niger Delta. We will continue to create more higher educational opportunities for students from indigent backgrounds in our region.
“We are also deepening the implementation of the programme’s mandate in informal education and other areas for the sustainable peace and socio-economic advancement of the region.”
Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited Established for Realization of Ondo Project
By: Michael Mike
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited has been incorporated to seamlessly allowed for the Refinery and Free Trade Zone in Ondo State.
A press statement on Thursday read that: “In furtherance of our commitment to the execution of these two major projects – Refinery and Free Trade Zone in conjunction with the Ondo State Government, the joint partners have taken another giant step by incorporating a joint company, namely – SUNSHINE JOINT VENTURE INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED – as the vehicle to be used in executing these projects. A move that further reinforces the sincerity of purpose and total commitment of the funding partners to move ahead together as a united front.
According to the release by Wale Adekola on behalf of the JV, the Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limitedwill, going forward serve as the vehicle to work with the Ondo State Government through the Ondo State Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) in the implementation of the executed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
The statement added that: “In moving the projects forward for implementation, the JV team met in Dubai to finalize the funding modalities and put in place structures and plans for the commencement of activities for ground breaking and community engagements. These initial activities are aimed at complementing the 50th Anniversary of the creation of Ondo State and the one year anniversary of the election of the Executive Governor of the Sunshine State, His Excellency, Chief Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa CFR.
At the Dubai meeting were key officers of the JV Company, including: Messrs SALEHI FARHAD; ZAHERI NAVID; EGHBAL KORDJAMSHIDI; SAHEED ZAHERI; DR. STEPHEN DIKE; HENRY OWONKA AND MRS. NAMVAR MARYAM.
The statement further informed that, plans have been concluded to mobilize the relevant contractors working with the locals and host communities to put up structures that will host the information center, architectural models to showcase the projects on offer and facilities that will serve the team. All these are being planned with ONDIPA to execute the relocation and accommodation of the host communities that are likely to be affected by the projects and create a seamless transition that will engender peaceful co-existence and harmonious relationship with our host communities.
The JV company further reiterated its commitment to work with Ondo State Government (through ONDIPA) to change the infrastructural landscape of the Sunshine State and for mutual benefits.
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited Established for Realization of Ondo Project
Edo: Seven suspected bandits arrested along Benin-Agbor Road
By: Zagazola Makama
Seven suspected bandits were arrested along the Benin–Agbor Road in Edo State during stop-and-search operations, security sources confirmed.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects, all Fulani youths, were intercepted after being offloaded from a truck at about 1800 hours on 2 December 2025. A search revealed pictures of assault rifles, including AK-47s, on their mobile phones.
Upon interrogation, the suspects claimed to have travelled from Adamawa State. Investigations are ongoing for the possible recovery of actual firearms and to determine their involvement in criminal activities.
Security agencies have urged members of the public to report any suspicious movements to help prevent criminal acts in the area.
Edo: Seven suspected bandits arrested along Benin-Agbor Road
UN Women Calls for Strengthening of Mechanism and Policies Towards Ending Gender Violence
Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited Established for Realization of Ondo Project
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