Politics
Insecurity: We’ve reached a tipping point, Lawan tells Buhari

The Senate President of Nigeria, Ahmad Lawan has said that the state of insecurity in the country has reached the tipping point.
He spoke shortly after a closed-door meeting President Muhammadu Buhari had with him and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the worsening security situation in the country.
This is even as the Presidency and the leadership of the National Assembly set up a committee to periodically review the security situation in Nigeria.
It will be recalled that the two chambers of the National Assembly had last week, demanded that service chiefs be sacked to make way for officers with fresh ideas to tackle headlong the security lapses.
The House of Representatives had specifically passed a resolution asking the President to sack the service chiefs.
But speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting which held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President of Senate, Dr. Lawan said the meeting was for the two arms of government to find a lasting solution to the myriad of security challenges in the country.
He said: “We met with Mr. President over the security issues in the country and other matters of governance. The recent security challenges this country is facing require that we work very closely.
“We had debates in the two chambers of the National Assembly last week and resolutions were taken and we have come to discuss with Mr. President on the way forward, what we feel about some of these security challenges and also to ask him what he thinks we should do.
“Though in the Senate, we have our ad-hoc committee which is to fashion out specific measures we believe should be taken, in the interim, there is need for us as a government to ensure we provide a way out to tackle the security challenges.
“In the intermediate and the long term, we should be able to come up with some strategies, the road map to ensure that we secure the lives and properties of Nigerians.”
On-call to sack service chiefs
Asked if the meeting discussed the recent calls for the sack of service chiefs, Lawan said they discussed everything.
“We discussed everything that matters as far as the issue of security of this country is concerned.
“We believe it is imperative that we are able to provide those necessary equipment and welfare for the Armed Forces of this country and the Police, to ensure that they are able to operate and perform efficiently and effectively,’’ he said.
On whether the security chiefs will solve the insecurity problems, the Senate President said the country has reached a tipping point.
He added: “You see, in matters of security, of course, as leaders, we are supposed to lead but when it concerns security, every single citizen matters in this. So, it is for all of us, citizens and leaders, to ensure we are playing our part as it is necessary.
“But I believe that the time has come; we have reached a tipping point that everybody in Nigeria is concerned about the security situation.
“Therefore, we are all prepared and that is why we have come to meet with Mr. President as leaders of the National Assembly, on behalf of our colleagues, to discuss the way forward. Of course, I believe that citizens’ participation is critical and crucial. Technology is equally important.
“Definitely, we are looking into technology but don’t want to divulge everything discussed about security but I believe that the issue of technology is important.
“We need to minimize the casualties of our armed forces and, therefore, we need to apply technology and become more efficient.
“It is also critical because we are dealing with human beings. You are asking the military, the police to go and fight insurgents, kidnappers and bandits, you also need to do something about their welfare.
“How do they live? Where do they live? What is the condition of the schools of their children? And so on and so forth. These are issues that are very important and could have very positive outcomes when we are able to do the right thing, and we will do them.”
On Buhari’s response
On the response of the President, Lawan said: “Mr President was forthcoming. Of course, as the leader of this country, he is more worried than anybody else about the situation.
“So, we are on the same page that we should be able to do whatever it takes to ensure that the security agencies are able to perform better than they are doing now.”
On his part, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, rhetorically asked if sacking the service chiefs would stop banditry and kidnapping.
He said President Buhari was more concerned about the security situation in the country and intended to do something to tackle the challenges.
He said: “The question of security is uppermost in his mind and he opened up to us and you must understand that some communications are privileged, but suffice to say that the President is concerned and he intends to do something about our challenges.
“Opinions are divided; the generality of the opinion is that the service chiefs should go, that was evident in our debates in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, but sometimes you don’t want a knee-jerk reaction.
“Many of us identify that something drastic has to be done, there’s also the school of thought that says since we are talking about banditry, kidnapping and murders, what have the armed forces got to do with that?
“So, the question then arises that if he changes the service chiefs, does that address the issues of kidnapping and banditry? The Army, Navy and Air Force are outfits set up to tackle external aggression. It is the Police that is set up for internal security, such as we are all witnessing.
“That’s talking about the service chiefs. Has the Inspector-General of Police met up with his responsibilities? The question is if we now narrow it down to the Inspector-General of Police, many will argue that he has done a very good job and many will argue with you that he’s hamstrung, straight-jacketed, that there’s very little he can do in the face of no equipment, no funding and we explained to Mr President that we have to increase funding, we have to recruit more.
“As we are talking, even just right now, we have gone on to set up a committee that will periodically review the issue of security, maybe once a month or once in six weeks, which will involve the two arms of government and the party.
“Major progress was made in this discussion, which is a meeting that lasted over an hour and I believe Nigerians will begin to see traction, they’ll begin to see changes. You can be sure that concrete steps will be taken in that direction.”
Politics
Breaking: UAE lifts visa ban on Nigerians

In a significant development, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has officially lifted the visa restrictions that were previously imposed on Nigerian travelers. This announcement came from the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, following a Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.
“I can tell you that the agreement has been reached and effective from today, Nigerian passport holders intending to travel to the UAE are able to do so,” Idris confirmed.
The lifting of these restrictions marks the end of a prolonged diplomatic dispute between the two nations. The UAE initially imposed the visa ban due to several unresolved issues, including financial disputes. Notably, Dubai’s Emirates airline had suspended flight operations to Nigeria over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s inability to remit an estimated $85 million in revenue to the UAE.
In June, after extensive negotiations, the Nigerian government reassured its citizens that the visa ban would soon be lifted. The government also announced that it had paid 98% of the $850 million owed to the UAE, paving the way for this positive outcome.
Further details on the agreement will be provided later today, as mentioned by Minister Idris. This development is expected to strengthen bilateral relations and promote travel and trade between Nigeria and the UAE.
Stay tuned for more updates as the full details of the agreement are released. For now, Nigerian travelers can start planning their trips to the UAE, free from previous travel restrictions.
Politics
I’m leaving PDP for APC – Gov Umahi of Ebonyi State

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, told the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abuja on Tuesday that he was leaving the party.
He said he would join the ruling All Progressives Congress which he claimed would protect the interest of the South-East in the 2023 elections.
Our correspondent gathered that Umahi told the members of the National Working Committee of the PDP that his decision to join the APC was irrevocable.
The members of the PDP NWC, who were led to the meeting by its National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, were said to have tried in vain to convince the governor not to abandon the party.
Apart from Secondus, among those that were at the meeting at the Ebonyi Governor’s Lodge in Abuja were Deputy National Secretary, Agbo Emmanuel; National Organising Secretary, Austin Akobondu; Financial Secretary, Abdullahi Maibasira; National Women Leader, Mariya Waziri and Senator Sulieman Nazif.
The governor was said to be friendly when he received the PDP delegation, but stuck to his decision to leave the PDP when the issue came up.
It was gathered that the PDP delegation impressed it upon the governor that there was no need leaving the PDP for the APC, which they argued had become unpopular.
Sources at the meeting, however, said the governor was not convinced, insisting that the APC was planning to zone the 2023 Presidency to the South-East.
He was said to have promised to stay in the PDP if the party could make a pronouncement that it would zone the Presidency to the same zone.
One of the sources said, “I think his (governor’s) mind was made up. We told him there was no need for him to abandon the party that had made him a deputy governor, state chairman of the party, two-time governor and all that. But he refused.
“He wanted us to unilaterally zone the office of the Presidency to his area. We cannot do that. Parties are not run that way. He told us he was leaving. That is what we got from him.’’
When contacted, Secondus confirmed that the party’s leadership met with Umahi.
He, however, refused to declared the details of the meeting, insisting that the meeting was on ‘‘national issues.’’
Crime
We Spent ₦2.2 Billion On Prayers Against Boko Haram – Adariko

An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission investigating officer, Adariko Michael, on Tuesday, alleged that N2.2 billion was spent on prayers in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to win the war against Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.
Mr. Michael was giving evidence as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the trial of Sambo Dasuki, former National Security Adviser (ONSA) to President Goodluck Jonathan, in the alleged two billion dollars arms deal fraud.
Others charged with Mr. Dasuki, a retired colonel, are a former General Manager with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Baba-kusa, Acacia Holdings Limited, and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.
The EFCC charged them with 32 counts bordering on misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, dishonest release and receiving various sums of money before Husseini Baba-Yusuf.
Led in evidence by the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, Mr Micheal said N750 million was allegedly transferred from the ONSA special account to Reliance Referral Hospital Limited’s account with First Bank.
He added that N650 million was also transferred to Acacia Holding Limited’s account with EcoBank, while another N600 million and N200 million were transferred to the company’s account with UBA.
“Between September 27, 2013, and April 16, 2015, N50 million was credited to Reliance Referral Hospital’s account.
“Based on responses from the banks involved, as investigating officer, we found out that money was transferred to several individuals and companies.
“When we went through the account statement, we asked the second defendant (Aminu Babakusa) the reason for this.
“He informed us that the money was used to hire clerics to pray for the nation as regards Boko Haram crisis.
“When we asked him to provide the names, contacts and phone numbers of the clerics he hired to pray for the nation, he mentioned only two,” he said.
Mr Dasuki spent four years in detention, following his arrest in 2015 over alleged misappropriation of N2.2 billion meant for arms purchase during his time as National Security Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan
After the Federal Government had consistently failed to honor court orders granting him bail, including an ECOWAS court judgment in 2016, he was finally released on December 24, 2019
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