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Agitation In The South-East Has Been Hijacked By Criminals – South East Governors

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Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi
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Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi who also double as the
Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum has said that agitation against marginalization of the zone has been hijacked by criminals.

Ebonyi State Govrrnor said this when happeared on Channels TV’s breakfast show Sunrise Daily on Wednesday.

The governor was speaking about the security situation in the South-East, the activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other issues, a day after governors of the region announced that a security outfit “Ebube Agu” will be established in the five states that make up the region before the end of the year.

“At the initial time, it was an issue of ‘look, we are being marginalised. A lot of people keyed into that,” Governor Umahi said of the initial agitations in the region.

“Then, along the line, it developed into violence. And then later, the same agitation has been hijacked by criminals, bandits and kidnappers.”

The Governor explained that the grievances of people in the region over the years had led to support for IPOB, which had said it was fighting against the marginalisation of the region.“A lot of people keyed in,” he said.

“If anybody had grievances with the centre (Federal Government), the person became a supporter of IPOB. If you sort anything at the federal level and you fail to get it, you become a supporter of IPOB.

Those in the diaspora that went for greener pastures and they failed to get such become very bitter with the Nigerian society. And so, followers kept growing.”

According to the governor, the situation worsened when the conflicts with herdsmen came up.

“They were a couple of killings in the South-East and the people were a bit helpless and felt the governors were not protecting them,” he said, adding that though the governors did a lot to ensure that there was peace between the herders and people, residents were not satisfied.

“You see, some uninformed elements felt that the only way to solve the problem between us and herdsmen was to ask them to leave the South-East.”

The preferred option for these elements, he explained, was not nationalistic because people from the South-East also live in the north.

“Then came the IPOB with ESN (Eastern Security Network), which is the militant aspect of IPOB, and they started to issue orders of threats,” the governor said.

So, along the line, the whole exercise has been hijacked. In the South-East, we no longer have kidnappers; everyone that commits one criminal act or the other claims to be IPOB.”

Governor Umahi accused some politicians, who he did not name, of capitalising on the situation.

These politicians, he said, “began to import killers from outside the South-East to advance their political interests”.

The governor, however, stressed that the people were beginning to understand the situation and support for IPOB is declining due to the actions of the group and the level of violence in the region.

He added that once the issues of leadership and development that led to cries of marginalisation were addressed to complement efforts being made by the governors to tackle the situation, security will improve in the region.

According to the governor, it is the failure of the Federal Government to treat the region equally that has led to agitations and calls for secessionist state, Biafra.

“This idea of Biafra, Biafra is madness,” he said, adding that most elites in the south east do not want Biafra.

“We don’t want Biafra. We only want to be treated equally like other regions in Nigeria,” Governor Umahi stressed.

Speaking of the sit-at-home order, which he says is mostly issued by people in diaspora, the governor lamented that the south-east people are complying only out of fear and not because they want to be obedient.

“If we had a policeman to everybody, nobody is going to obey any sit at home,” he said.

He, therefore, promised that governors from the region will continue doing what they can to safeguard the people because “we cannot have Biafra by the way they are going about it”.

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Defence and Security

 Insecurity: Senate To Hold National Security Summit

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President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio
Senate-President-Godswill-Akpabio
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The Nigerian Senate is set tp hold a national security Summit to address the current security charges headlong.

This was also done during the 8th and the 9th National Assembly , the Senate resolved to hold a two – day National Security Summit for lasting solutions to the myriad of problems of insecurity bedeviling the country .

Those to attend the planned National Security Summit shall include delegates from the Federal, States, and Local Governments as well as the Traditional Institutions to propose legitimate solutions to insecurity and its challenges in the country.

It also resolved that the Federal Government should use resolutions from the proposed summit to rejig the country’s security architecture through formulation and implementation of very proactive and pragmatic policies .

The resolutions were sequel to a motion sponsored for that effect by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim ( APC Ondo South) and co – sponsored by Senators Zam Titus , Senator Peter Onyeka Nwebonyli, Onyeka Peter, APC, Ebonyi North and Senator Ngwu Osita, PDP, Enugu West.

Senator Jimoh Ibrahim in the motion titled : ” Urgent Need for a National Security Summit” said that high level of global insecurity is driven by events in Russia and Ukraine and compounded by tensions between the global north and global south which according to him ,
have worsened food insecurity and affected the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs).

He posited that the growing impact of the tariff war in America and the rising emphasis on balance of power by various countries, are reflected in the new international order, concerning immigration and the cancellation of visas by the new regimes, which has necessitated some countries to raise funds by selling citizenship, intensifying economic conflict, and undermining globalization, which the investment the global space has pursued over the last sixty years;

He further notes the significance of power, influence, and authority at the geo-centric level, as such, Nigeria must clarify its strategic engagement in the international arena and the roles of the Senate in advising the executive to help the government achieve substantial value for Nigeria and uphold its sovereignty, as the next world war may not even require the fanfare of militarism, but the i dible growing ic war is gaining ground with destructive innovation in security globally.

The Senate he added, is aware that recent events in our region have led to feelings of discomfort and insecurity, which has placed the past accomplishments of our security forces at risk even though, our military and its partners are striving to address these challenges, they do not have solutions to the global economic conflict or the effects of new American tariffs and tensions with China.

“As a result, insecurity across Nigeria has become pervasive, impacting on both urban and rural areas, where banditry, ransom kidnappings, and terrorism are pressing issues, across the country as well as other violent crimes”, he stressed .

According to him, the historical trajectory of political crises, such as the Kano riot of 1953, the Eastern Region constitutional crises of 1953, the census crises of 1962-63, and the Action Group crises of 1962 and 1967-70, the Federal Election of 1964, the Western Nigeria Election of 1965, the General Election of 1979, the executive versus legislative crises of 1981 in Kaduna, and the general election 1983, cannot be forgotten as the election approaches.

He explained further that National Security Summit was very necessary for expertise ideas to compliment President Bola Tinubu’s seriousness on the peace of Nigeria, saying “there is need for some fact-finding intelligence support for Mr. President’s efforts even of the fact that most military strategies and languages such as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, are no longer exclusive to the military.

“No country will allow its citizens to understand security by living with insecurity, therefore, the ideology of peace for all, as outlined in the executive policy leg of the Renewed Hope Agenda should be upheld and promoted.

See also External Debt: Buhari’s theory of servicing debt with scarce revenue destructive; I won’t sustain it: Tinubu “Can we continue to service external debts with 90% of our revenue?” Mr Tinubu asked. “It is a path to destruction. It is not sustainable.”
“To address the challenges highlighted above, it Is imperative that empirical fact-finding National Security Summit is organized by the Senate to assist in providing the requisite platform for exhaustive and far reaching deliberations on the way forward”, he said .

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Defence and Security

Senate Confirms Appointment Of Oluyede As COAS

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Major General Olufemi Oluyede
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The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede for appointment as Chief of Army Staff.

The confirmation today followed the consideration of reports by the Chairman of the sense committee on Army, Sen. Yar’ adua, Abdulaziz Musa (Katsina Central).

The committee’s recommendations were unanimously adopted by the upper chamber.

Lieutenant General Oluyede was appointed to act as the Chief of Army Staff following the illness and subsequent death of Lt. Gen. Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja.

 

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Defence and Security

Tinubu Appoints New DG for NIA, DSS

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President Bola Tinubu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
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President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of new Directors-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Department of State Services (DSS).

Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed is the new Director-General of the NIA.

Mr. Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi is the new Director-General of the DSS.

This is contained in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale Special Adviser to the President, Media & Publicity

The statement reads : “Ambassador Mohammed has had an illustrious career in the foreign service since joining the NIA in 1995.

He had served in various roles, culminating in his promotion to the rank of Director and his subsequent appointment as the head of the Nigerian mission to Libya”

“The 1990 graduate of Bayero University, Kano, had served in North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, and at the State House, Abuja”

“The new DSS Director-General, Mr.

Adeola Ajayi, rose through the ranks to attain his current post of Assistant Director-General of the Service. He had, at various times, served as State Director in Bauchi, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Kogi”

“The new appointments follow the resignation of the previous NIA and DSS chiefs”

“President Tinubu expects that the new security chiefs will work assiduously to reposition the two intelligence agencies for better results and charges them to bring their experience to bear in tackling the security challenges bedeviling the country through enhanced collaboration with sister agencies and in surgical alignment with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

The President thanks the outgoing Directors-General of the two pivotal intelligence agencies for their services to the nation while wishing them success in their future endeavours”

 

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