National News
Zulum to Stakeholders: Let’s Make Northeast’s Master Plan Ambitious, Achievable

Zulum to Stakeholders: Let’s Make Northeast’s Master Plan Ambitious, Achievable
… Sadiya, other Ministers, NSA, CDS, IGP, attend
By: Michael Mike
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum on Tuesday charged stakeholders including himself to work together in developing an ambitious but realistic and achievable master plan for the stabilization and development of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe States which make up the six States in the northeast geopolitical zone.
Zulum who chairs the forum of northeast Governors spoke as special guest of honour of a multi-stakeholder consultation forum with the theme: North East Stabilization and Development Master Plan (NESDMP) project, which was hosted by the Northeast Development Commission, NEDC at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
The forum was attended by Ministers of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq and some Ministers, Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, Inspector General of Police, Baba Usman Alkali, and National Security Adviser Major-General Babagana Monguno(rtd), and other top officials.
Addressing the participants, Governor Zulum said:
“Let me start by thanking President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs for their interventions in ensuring that there is peace in the North East. We all understand the crucial role that consistency can play in bringing back peace, stability and prosperity in the North East in particular and Nigeria in general. This master plan must be ambitious, broad, brave, comprehensive to cover the whole scope of issues in the Northeast”
“The plan should outlive our tenures in office. It should be a reflection of our doggedness to rise from the ashes of destruction into the bright and welcoming place of peace and development. Our aspirations, as Governors and people of the region, therefore, should be to build back better everything that we lost and much more. The work may appear to be daunting, but rest assured that the bulk will be made easier than we can imagine through the unflinching support you will receive from the leadership in the northeast as a whole. Our respective States in the North East will make available plans for the purpose of alignment and synergy that will deliver better quality service to the people of the northeast” Zulum added.
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“Using Borno State as an example, we will make available our 25-year development plan as a starting point on our own side. My colleagues will provide theirs as well. It is important that we are not starting from ground zero. Building on efforts already on ground, we should ensure that we are not just making plans that don’t talk with one another. We should make plans for a common purpose governed by good leadership and commitment to finish whatever we start” the Governor said.
“This plan should not be a political plan. It should be a people’s plan. A strategic direction to bring back peace in the North East. I implore everyone involved to help us bring back the lost glory of the north east” Zulum urged.
… Minister
In her remarks as Chief Host, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq explained that “the necessity for a North East master plan is stated in SECTION 8 (1C) of the NEDC Act, which lists as one of the functions of the NEDC to ‘Develop a Master Plan based on the needs assessment of the zone to be known as the North East Stabilization and Development Master Plan (NESDMP), which shall contain programmes and schemes that promote and facilitate the physical and socio economic development of the North East Zone, and the estimate of the time and costs for implementing such programmes and schemes”.
… CDS
On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, who was represented by Commander, Defence Headquarters’ Garrison, Major-General Preye Fakrogha, pledged the military’s support towards realizing the plan and its implementation.
… NEDC
Managing Director/CEO of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) Mohammed G. Alkali recalled that “before yesterday’s larger forum, the NEDC had consulted relevant stakeholders in a bottom-up approach”, noting that so far, engagements on the Master Plan were held at grassroots level in all the 112 LGAs” across the six States in the northeast.
“The event we are witnessing today is one of the high points of such consultations because all the Federal MDAs and security agencies execute priceless and impactful interventions in the North-East Region” the MD said.
Goodwill messages were delivered by the dignitaries that included the Chairman, Senate Committee on Special Duties, Sen. Yusuf A. Yusuf, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Prof. Ali Pantami, Minister of Power, Mr. Abubakar Aliyu, Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali, among other top officials.
Zulum to Stakeholders: Let’s Make Northeast’s Master Plan Ambitious, Achievable
National News
Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony
By: Michael Mike
Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called on Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress.
The advice was given by the Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, in his message on Eid-el-Kabir.
The Institute, while extending warm greetings to Nigerians, wished them a joyous and peaceful celebration, marked by love, compassion, and unity.
The Institute while noting that Sallah is a significant occasion in the Islamic calendar, symbolizing the values of sacrifice, gratitude, and community, emphasized that the spirit of Sallah should guide Nigerians in their interactions with one another, fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding.
The IPCR urged Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress, while
encouraging individuals to embrace the values of Sallah, including forgiveness, empathy, and kindness, in their daily lives.
According to IPCR, peace is critical to promoting national stability and cohesion.
The Institute also urged Nigerians to use this period of Sallah celebration to address conflicts and promote dialogue, which could help to build trust and understanding among Nigerians and also contribute to a more peaceful society.
It recognized that the country’s many ethnic and religious groups can work together to build a more harmonious society, celebrating their differences and promoting a culture of tolerance.
End
National News
Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing
By: Michael Mike
A community leader and the Waziri Mushere of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Chief Yohana Margif has expressed dismay over the incessant killing of innocent citizens of the community.
Margif made this known in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene to halt what he described as genocide against the people, which he said was being perpetrated by suspected herdsmen.
Margif also called on Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and other security chiefs in the country, to rein in the alleged culprits.
He said: “I would like to draw the attention of the topmost leadership in Nigeria to the deteriorating dire security situation in Plateau, particularly in Mushere Chiefdom of Bokkos LGA.
“I urge President Tinubu to take immediate decisive action to halt these endless and senseless killings, protect lives and properties, and secure the future of the Mushere people, and other victims of obvious genocide against the people.
“Herdsmen are killing our innocent people, burning their homes, looting their foodstuff, property, livestock, and taking over their ancestral lands,” he said.
According to the Abuja-based real estate mogul, the attacks and attendant killings have intensified recently since the onset of this year’s farming season.
Margif further said that the people had been displaced from their villages and ancestral homes and were forced to become internally displaced persons in the country.
He emphasised that the situation required immediate intervention by all stakeholders in order to prevent further escalation and inflict an irredeemable harm by wiping out the entire community from the surface of the earth.
He lamented that: “Since President Tinubu’s administration began, Plateau State has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of violence and loss of lives.
“This is the current sad reality. Our people are constantly under the threat of the enemy’s bullets and can’t sleep with two eyes closed due to the perpetual unleashing of violence against them by external forces.
“Something urgent must be done to stem the tide of violence and end this war against the people in order not to
harm this administration’s reputation,” Margif said.
In the past couple of days, suspected herdsmen militia killed no fewer than 35 people in the localities of Hokk, Pangkap, Fokoldep, Kopmur, Margif, Horop, Mbor, Mushere and Kwahas localities in Mushere Chiefdom.
Chairman, Bokkos Community Peace Observers, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the killings to newsmen, said the victims included a 70-year-old Pastor of COCIN LCC Kwakas-Mushere, Mimang Lekyil, who was attacked and killed in the church.
He said that the pastor’s wife was also shot in the leg and was admitted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital for treatment, he said.
“Bokkos has never been this insecure, with the people being butchered as we are currently witnessing,” Lilian Madaki, from the Mushere community told journalists.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Adesina, also confirmed the incident in a statement saying security forces including police and military personnel, had been deployed in the affected communities.
Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing
National News
VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu
** Says Nigeria has lost an intellectual giant
By: Our Reporter
Vice President Kashim Shettima today led other Muslim faithful for the Jana’iza (funeral prayers) of the late elder statesman, renowned medical scholar and former Minister of Education and Petroleum, Prof. Jibril Aminu, at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Prof. Aminu, a one-time President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (OPEC), passed on in Abuja on Thursday after a prolonged illness.
The Vice President, who arrived at the National Mosque at 1:52 pm, commiserated with the family of the deceased and prayed Allah to comfort them and make Aljanna Firdaus the final abode of the late elder statesman.

Noting that the late Prof Aminu’s demise is a great loss to the nation, VP Shettima described the late surgeon, educationist and administrator as a man who saw it all, just as he said the deceased was an intellectual giant who can hardly be replaced.
“It is a very sad loss. Prof Jubril Aminu was the last of the great titans, an iconic figure who enormously contributed to the development of the nation.
“He was variously the Executive Secretary of NUC, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Honourable Minister of various ministries across the country and left his landmarks on the sands of time.
“He is irreplaceable. May Allah grant him Aljanatul Firdaus and give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. His loss is not just to the good people of Adamawa State but to the nation and Africa at large,” the Vice President prayed.

Born in Song, Adamawa in 1939, Prof. Aminu was a towering figure in Nigerian public life.
The late Consultant Cardiologist served the nation in different capacities, including as Federal Minister of Education and later Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1989–1992), Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States (1999–2003), and Senator representing Adamawa Central (2003–2011).
He was also President of OPEC in 1991 and President of the OPEC Conference between 1991 and 1992 while he was Petroleum Minister.
Other mourners who joined the Vice President at the National Mosque in Abuja for the Jana’iza included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo; former Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed; former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako; former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai (rtd); former Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman; former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, among many others.
VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu
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