National News
We can make the Commonwealth a real global power – Buhari

We can make the Commonwealth a real global power – Buhari
WE CAN MAKE THE COMMONWEALTH A REAL GLOBAL POWER
Why should our 54 countries not lend weight to each other in international bodies, compounding our influence as the EU does?
Muhammadu Buhari
What becomes of the Commonwealth should one of its 15 members that are not a republic join those 39 others which are? With Jamaica considering such a move, this question is being asked. But it is misplaced: the modern Commonwealth was constituted in 1949 specifically to accommodate a republic – newly independent India – precisely after such constitutional change.
Still, it is right to debate the Commonwealth’s future. Though perfectly sustainable in its current form, it would be a disservice to its members should current levels of co-operation be the limit of our aspirations.
For a start, we should strive to reduce trade barriers, given the unity nearly all of us hold through the English language, jurisprudence and education systems. We might explore grouping more readily together at intergovernmental forums such as the United Nations to deliver outcomes for one member individually or all collectively. We should work closer on defence interoperability and mutual support in the fight against global terrorism – now centred on Africa, and which threatens new waves of refugees into the West.
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Some will point to factors such as Commonwealth countries’ membership in regional trade blocs, UN ballots with members voting in opposite ways and a lack of military compatibility as proof that closer cooperation cannot be achieved. It is possible to prove these people wrong – but only if we attempt to do so.
The forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this June should be a moment when the potential for our club is reimagined. This bi-annual senior decision-making body is being hosted by Rwanda: a republic no less, and prescient, when the largest contingent of Commonwealth countries is African.
Not far from the official agenda will be the question of how Brexit will continue to affect us all.
Already the U.K. Global Tariff (UKGT) has reduced, removed or simplified tax on thousands of imported goods, which is an important step in reconfiguring Commonwealth trade. When the club’s largest economy was unable to practice the free trade it long preached, others had little incentive to lower barriers. Association within their own trade blocs is not prohibitive. There is still much more that members can do inside their respective frameworks.
A number of the Commonwealth’s African members have now signed product-based trade agreements with the UK. But a potential deal with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), set to become the world’s largest free trade area, heralds the greatest opportunity.
The UK signed the world’s first memorandum of understanding with the nascent bloc last year, with a future deal securing free trade simultaneously with nineteen African Commonwealth members, collectively representing the majority of Africa’s GDP. It would likely presage further agreements between AfCFTA and other members, further opening intra-Commonwealth trade.
With trade could come greater defence cooperation. African Commonwealth members are active in many theatres across the continent, whether battling ISIS-affiliated militants across the Sahel region in the West, the Horn of Africa in the East, or Mozambique in the South. Arms and defensive equipment are part of the solution.
There is no reason why one of the world’s foremost military manufacturers should not sell more widely to our association when it is a group of allies. When Britain does not, they must look elsewhere. Today we have a mosaic of incompatible systems. But particularly in Africa, where members find themselves on the same missions, interoperability would make a material impact on the ground.
And in diplomacy, when trade and defence ties are drawn closer, so too do geopolitical interests. The EU’s 27 members tend to have each other’s backs in, for instance, UN votes. Why should the 54 Commonwealth partners not similarly organise, lending weight to each other in such bodies and wielding more influence?
At CHOGM, these new opportunities can be grasped. What holds us back is only the limit of our ambition. For those who say this cannot be done, I say we will never know until we try.
Muhammadu Buhari is President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
National News
Four Soldiers Injured in Vehicle Accident on Mambilla Plateau

Four Soldiers Injured in Vehicle Accident on Mambilla Plateau
By: Zagazola Makama
Four Nigerian soldiers have sustained injuries in a vehicle accident on the Mambilla Plateau in Taraba State.
The accident occurred on Thursday while the troops were moving across the mountainous terrain of the area, Zagazola reports.
The Emir of Mambilla, Dr. Shehu Audu Baju, was said to have personally joined in the rescue operation to ensure that the soldiers received prompt assistance.

Following the rescue, the injured personnel were evacuated to the 20 Battalion Barracks in Serti for urgent medical care.
Community members and traditional leaders in the area have expressed sympathy and prayed for the speedy recovery of the soldiers, while also calling for the safety of other security operatives on duty.
Four Soldiers Injured in Vehicle Accident on Mambilla Plateau
National News
UKNIAF, NGF Advance Electricity Reform with Nationwide Workshop Series

UKNIAF, NGF Advance Electricity Reform with Nationwide Workshop Series
By: Michael Mike
The United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), in partnership with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) have wrapped up a major national initiative to support State-led electricity market reforms.
The State Learning Workshop Series focused on Electricity Market Development, Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) and energy modelling software.
Workshops in Lagos, Calabar, Kano and Jos have been successfully completed, drawing participants from all the 36 States and the FCT and setting a strong precedent for what lies ahead.

These sessions equipped policymakers, regulators and stakeholders with the tools to design robust, sustainable and investor-ready electricity markets at the State level, in line with the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023.
Reflecting on the significance of this initiative, the Director-Legal/Head Power Desk at the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Mr. Chijioke Chuku,, stated that: “Nigeria’s electricity future depends on the capacity of our States to lead with vision, clarity, and technical precision. Through the workshop series, we are equipping States not just with knowledge, but with the confidence to take charge of their electricity markets. The NGF is proud to partner with UKNIAF in ensuring that the promise of the Electricity Act 2023 becomes a lived reality across the country.”
The sessions in the State Learning Workshops covered: The legal and regulatory pathways for setting up State Electricity Markets; Commercial models for private sector investment; Integration of State plans into Nigeria’s National IRP;
Practical training on the software platform for energy modelling.
The initiative drew from lessons learned in the course of UKNIAF’s work supporting the Akwa Ibom, Enugu, and Oyo State Governments—early movers in electricity market development—in setting up their markets.
It also drew from experience gained in the course of UKNIAF providing technical support to the Federal Ministry of Power in drafting both the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Nigeria’s first National Integrated Resource Plan, both of which were approved very recently.
With States now empowered by the Electricity Act 2023, this series is a timely and strategic effort to ensure capacity, coordination, and sustainability in Nigeria’s decentralised energy landscape.
UKNIAF, NGF Advance Electricity Reform with Nationwide Workshop Series
National News
Three killed, others injured in bandits’ attack on Zamfara community

Three killed, others injured in bandits’ attack on Zamfara community
By: Zagazola Makama
Armed bandits have killed three persons and injured three others in an attack on Galadi town, Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara.
Sources confirmed the incident saying the attack occurred at about 10:50 p.m. on Aug. 27.
The sources said the bandits stormed the town, shooting sporadically, which resulted in the deaths and injuries.
Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA were mobilised to the scene. The corpses and injured victims were evacuated to Galadi Primary Health Care Centre for autopsy and treatment.
Meanwhile, a manhunt for the fleeing culprits has been intensified, as the bandits escaped before the arrival of the joint forces,” the sources said.
Three killed, others injured in bandits’ attack on Zamfara community
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