The state government has been requested by the Katsina State House of Assembly to outlaw graduation ceremonies in all of the state’s schools.

The resolution was adopted during Tuesday’s plenary session in Katsina, which was chaired by Abduljal Runka, the deputy speaker.

Tasi’u Musa-Maigari, who represents the Zango constituency, presented the motion and claimed that these kinds of events frequently lead to social vices and raise security issues throughout the state.

Therefore, he urged other MPs to back the measure, emphasizing that prohibiting graduation ceremonies will contribute to maintaining peace and order.

Aliyu Abubakar-Albaba, who represents the Katsina seat, supported the motion and urged the government to address the growing issue of phone snatching immediately.

He said that quick action was required to stop the threat, which has expanded and could get out of control if left unchecked.

Following discussions, the house unanimously approved the resolutions, emphasizing the urgency of acting quickly to protect citizens throughout the state.

The clerk was instructed by the deputy speaker to forward the house resolutions to the executive branch for any appropriate action.

The house also demanded Ibrahim Ishaq, permanent member “I” of the State Universal Basic Education Board, be fired during the same plenary.

The house leader, Shamsuddeen Abubakar-Dabai, introduced a motion of urgent public significance, which was followed by the resolution.

The call, according to Mr. Abubakar-Dabai, was prompted by an alleged unguarded comment Ishaq made about the assembly at a public event.

He pointed out that Ishaq had previously been asked to clarify the remarks by the assembly, and that he had allegedly acknowledged uttering them.

The house recommended the administration to revoke Ishaq’s appointment, citing legal rules and the gravity of the misbehavior.

The deputy speaker instructed the clerk to forward the resolution to the executive branch for any necessary implementation once the motion was adopted.

Abbas Tajudeen, the speaker of the House of Representatives, has given African countries the responsibility of generating jobs and preventing income loss in order to ensure the economic future of the continent.

At the commencement of the seventh Annual African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices meeting in Abuja, Mr. Tajudeen delivered the charge.

The week-long conference’s theme is “The Role of PBOs in African Parliaments: Contribution to the African 2063 Development Agenda” in relation to fiscal oversight.

People from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Cape Verde, Gambia, Somalia, Uganda, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania, Malawi, and Liberia attended the meeting.

Africa, home to around 1.4 billion people, or one-sixth of the world’s population, is at a pivotal juncture in its history, the speaker added.

According to the congressman, the African continent is young, developing, and full of great potential.

With a population of over 200 million and a projected GDP of $477 billion in 2022, Nigeria bears a unique duty in this African tale.

“The African Union’s Agenda 2063, which serves as the blueprint for the Africa we desire, reflects our ambitious goals and we are a continent full of smart young people and plentiful resources. But the road to achieving this goal is still rocky,” he stated.

He said Sub-Saharan Africa was seeing a slight recovery in economic development, with the World Bank predicting an uptick from 3.3% in 2024 to 3.5% in 2025.

“While positive, this is insufficient to address our development needs at this time. As of 2024, 464 million Africans are predicted to be living in extreme poverty, demonstrating the pervasiveness of poverty, Mr. Tajudeen stated.

He went on to say that underemployment and unemployment, particularly among youth, were pressing problems.

Only about three million formal employment are created annually, despite 12 million young Africans entering the workforce. This opportunity gap demonstrates a demographic dividend that, if we do nothing, might become a demographic risk,” he cautioned.

Government budgets must appropriately reflect development goals in different countries, including national and continental development plans, and be backed by strong supervision systems, according to Mr. Tajudeen.

Africans looked on their parliaments, he added, to carefully match public spending with more general development goals and to take citizens’ opinions into account when making fiscal decisions.

The African Development Bank estimates that capital flight costs Africa around $587 billion a year, the speaker said.

According to him, the money departed the continent via a variety of means, including profit shifting by international firms, corruption, illegal commerce, and mispricing.

He said it was estimated that corruption alone costs Africa $148 billion a year.

Nigeria, the speaker said, served as a warning about the difficulty and necessity of supervision.

Solomon Dalung, a former minister of sports, has charged that the Federal Government favors terrorists while exposing regular Nigerians to ongoing violent bandit attacks.
Dalung said that Nigeria’s centralized security system had broken down and that a perilous double standard had been established in a statement titled “Beyond State Police: The Urgent Case for Citizens’ Right to Bear Arms,” which he shared on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

“It is ironic that terrorists and bandits openly display sophisticated weapons at government-sponsored peace meetings, sometimes in front of soldiers and police,” the former minister said, adding that regular people run the possibility of being arrested for possessing even simple self-defense gear.
Dalung argued that Nigeria’s worsening security crisis had gone beyond the debate over state police.

He urged the National Assembly to embark on a constitutional amendment that not only enables the creation of state, local government, and community policing but also gives citizens the legal right to bear arms for self-defence.

He said: “Today, gunmen, terrorists and drug criminals are using weapons, modern guns, grenades, even unimportant aircraft technology, to harm innocent and poor citizens. The sad thing is, these bad people are considered big mouths at reconciliation rallies organised by some state governments, where they display their weapons in front of security agents, including the military. But if the poor man keeps a knife in the kitchen to defend himself, the security forces will arrest him.

“This nation leaves people as the defenceless and weak in the security system that protects the rich, terrorists and criminals, but oppresses the poor.

“The current security system of Nigeria has shown a lot of injustice to the masses. It has been proven that a single police system fails to protect lives and property of the public, instead it protects big politicians, criminal organizations and terrorist sponsors.

“According to the U.S., where the constitution of the President of Nigeria comes from, there are different levels of police at federal, state, district and city levels. Also, the laws of the country give citizens the right to hold arms legally. This system strengthens security and enables police to respond directly to the needs of the community.

Dalung Accuses Opponents of Dishonesty
The former minister accused those resisting state police and citizens’ right to bear arms of dishonesty, alleging that many of them benefit from the broken system or shield terrorist financiers.

According to him, Nigeria must adopt a layered policing structure similar to that of the United States to restore public trust and secure communities.

“This double standard has left the masses exposed, helpless, and trapped in a system that protects the rich and violent actors while criminalising the defenceless poor,” he said.

To end his re-election campaign for the 2027 election, Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno has taken aim at those who he claims are dissidents from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who are impersonating members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The majority of people who joined him in defecting to the APC, in his opinion, are traitors. He threatened to deal with the matter when the time was right.

“You fight structure, fight structure, what are you going to do with my structure?” he asked, adding that previous governors had experienced the same political scheming by troublemakers. However, he issued a warning that he would not put up with such antics from his purported supporters.

Even then, he had previously stated, “I don’t have power like Wike.” (the FCT minister) In an effort to fight for structure, the seemingly upset governor declared that he would personally assess the loyalty of his appointees by counting the number of genuine loyalists who actually defected to the APC with him using their membership cards in different wards.

The governor expressed his thoughts during a special interdenominational Thanksgiving ceremony commemorating the 38th anniversary of the establishment of the State, which was conducted over the weekend at the International Christian Worship Centre (ICWC), located on Udoudoma Avenue in the State capital of Uyo.

He warned that he would not tolerate any opposition to his candidacy for a second term and urged those he designated as his political critics to turn from their ways.

He revealed that the majority of the appointees attend the APC meeting during the day and the PDP meeting at night. He also said that he has placed surveillance tentacles throughout the state to identify individuals who are engaging in double dealing as we move closer to 2027.

In order to expose people engaging in parallel politics, Eno promised to personally attend such nighttime gatherings and to oppose such attempts. A United State of Akwa Ibom was his goal, he stated, but he questioned why lefties still sang in divided tones.

In order to prevent the state’s peace and unity from being disrupted, he implored the populace to forgive one another and avoid needless hostility.

“Let’s unite in love, extend forgiveness to one another, and go forward together. Let’s prepare and work for our state’s overall welfare. That’s what I sincerely hope. I’m happy to see people from different political parties join together in this way. All patriotic citizens ought to be interested in the state and exhibit some sense of patriotism. I believe this togetherness is about that.

Let’s put aside our ethnicity. Rising beyond ethnicity, parochialism, and ingrained hatred is a clear summons. This is the only state you will ever have. Akwa Ibom is a single, unified group. Eno emphasized, “I took over the United States of Akwa Ibom, and I will hand it over in this manner; nothing will separate us.”

He emphasized the importance of each leader’s prior efforts and pledged to work with them going forward, respecting their contributions and their legacies.

In addition to thanking previous leaders and stakeholders for attending, the governor praised the strong feeling of togetherness, maturity, and understanding displayed by the state’s political party leadership.

Thanking the people for their perseverance, support, and unshakable faith in the state’s ability to make a bigger difference, Governor Eno reminded them of the ongoing INEC voter registration drive and urged them to register in advance of the elections “when the time comes.”

According to Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Nigeria is already seeing benefits from the military assistance it receives from China.

Obasa pointed out that China’s military assistance, which includes training and domestic armaments manufacturing, is assisting Nigeria in combating insecurity.

Obasa spoke at the celebration of the 76th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos, according to a statement provided to reporters on Tuesday. According to the legislator, Nigeria has greatly profited from the two nations’ bilateral relationship.

Obasa underlined that Nigeria has benefited from China’s military assistance thus far, which has raised the nation’s degree of security.

Security in Nigeria and other African nations has improved as a result of the two nations’ strengthened military cooperation, he continued, with China emphasizing indigenous military training and armaments manufacture.

In Lagos State, Obasa also emphasized China’s support to infrastructural projects.

“The two nations’ strengthened military cooperation, in which China prioritizes domestic military training and armaments manufacturing as part of initiatives to enhance security in Nigeria and throughout Africa, is already paying off.

“During the visit, Presidents Tinubu and Xi Jinping engaged in a friendly and thorough discussion on regional and global topics of shared interest as well as China-Nigeria relations.

The two presidents concurred that both nations were at a fresh historical beginning as important symbols of expanding economies and large developing nations. They also decided that their improved strategic partnership would help shape China-Africa relations in the coming years.

The Lagos Speaker stated, “Notable Chinese investments in the construction of vital infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and rail systems, have contributed to Lagos’ remarkable growth and improved our economic landscape and enriched our societies.”