News

Nigerians Suffering Under Your Watch, PDP Reps Tell FG

Published

8 years ago

April 3, 2018

Eric

The Peoples Democratic Party Caucus at the House of Representatives on Tuesday tackled the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government over the “worsening sufferings” of Nigerians.

The caucus noted that more Nigerians were hungry due to lack of food while many others were unemployed or under-employed.

In a statement in Abuja, the caucus stated that the APC government won election in 2015, using propaganda as a weapon of “deception” when in reality the government knew that it lacked the capacity to deliver on its campaign promises.

The statement, which was signed on behalf of the caucus by the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, observed that after three years of running Nigeria by propaganda, the government had realised that time was against it.

The caucus added that this was the reason the government was opposed to any criticism of its policies that had failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians.

The lawmakers cited last week’s incident in Lagos, where the city was shut down because of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to inaugurate some projects. They said the same Buhari, years back, stalled the $100m Lagos modern metro line project.

It noted, “Over and over, it has been proven that the current APC government in Nigeria beats all preceding administrations, including the colonial ones, in the sinister art of deceitful lies and propaganda.

“With fiendish mercilessness, the APC’s 2015 campaign milked the unfortunate abduction of the Chibok girls for every available ounce of propaganda and disinformation against the preceding administration.

“Its campaign rhetoric and official hoopla from the lying minister had included rescuing of the Chibok girls and achieving total defeat of the Boko Haram insurgents.

“Today, the APC government nurses palpable fear over any scrutiny of its errors in Dapchi or its unusual generosity towards Boko Haram, which it promised to defeat but now almost sees as a partner with which to share deep and befuddling confidence.”

The caucus called on the government to heed the advice of American billionaire, Mr. Bill Gates, who during a recent visit to Nigeria, faulted the government’s economic recovery and growth plan.

It said rather than applaud Gates for giving a very honest piece of advice, the government reacted by dismissing the billionaire.

The caucus added, “Although, the APC government is known not to be a listening one, last Thursday, the Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates, emphatically stated that the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan was not reflective of the people’s needs.

“It is an open secret that under the APC, Nigerians have fared worse on the misery index; those who were rich before are no longer investing, the poor are becoming poorer while almost 30 million Nigerians are either unemployed or under-employed.

“According to Bill Gates, the APC government’s concentration on physical infrastructure to the detriment of human capital development exposes the undesirable inadequacies in the health and education sectors.”

When contacted, the Majority Leader of the House and Leader of the APC Caucus, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said his colleagues were merely trying to rewrite history by forgetting that it was the PDP that got Nigeria into the mess the APC had been cleaning up.

He argued that the PDP caucus was playing politics in the hope that Nigerians would forget the past and follow the party.

Gbajabiamila added, “It is election season and I don’t expect my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to say anything different, but facts are sacred.

“I guess they have their own alternative facts. Unfortunately, Nigerians are wiser and I am glad they have admitted to their misdeeds and sins against the people.

“In law, it is called voluntary confession, which is admissible in a law court, in this case the electorate as evidence against the PDP. We in the APC in turn admit to underestimating the level and quantum of the rot they left behind whilst trying to clean same up.

“The question that is up for debate is whether their voluntary confession without more should suffice. Me thinks not. Once beaten twice shy.

“Nigerians are smarter and will not succumb to crocodile and pretentious tears.”

News

Gunmen Kill Driver, Abduct Passengers on Benin-Ore Expressway

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2026

Eric

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have attacked a commercial bus operated by GUO Transport along the Benn-Ore expressway, killing the driver and abducting several passengers in what underscores Nigeria’s deepening insecurity on major highways.

Reports indicate that the assailants ambushed the South East-bound vehicle, opened fire on the driver, who died at the scene, and subsequently whisked away passengers to an unknown destination.

The incident is believed to have occurred along a notorious stretch of the highway linking the South-West to the South-South, long plagued by banditry and abductions.

While official confirmation from security agencies is expected, local sources and a circulating video showed that passengers might have forcefully been taken into nearby forests, a tactic commonly employed by kidnapping syndicates operating along the corridor. Similar attacks in the past have involved mass abductions, with victims later released after ransom payments.

News

Police Retirees Block Aso Rock Gate, Demand Action on Pension Scheme

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2026

Eric

Some retirees of the Nigeria Police Force under the aegis of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF) have staged a protest at the Presidential Villa in Abuja demanding President Bola Tinubu sign the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly in December 2025.

The bill seeks to withdraw the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The protesters, under the scorching sun, walked from the Three Arms Zone in Abuja through the street in front of the Police Headquarters.

They carried placards with various inscriptions, in addition to the Nigerian flag and the flag of the Nigeria Police Force.

Led by its National Coordinator, CSP Raphael Irowainu, the protesters described the retention of the NPF in the Contributory Pension Scheme as fraudulent and illegal.

They also said the CPS is inhumane and obnoxious.

According to them, the protest seeks to prevail on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to give assent to the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly on 4th December 2025 and transmitted to the President on 16th March 2026.

They said that when signed into law, the Act will totally exempt the police from what they called a “slavery and untimely death-inducing pension scheme.”

The protesters, accompanied by some of their spouses and children, also blocked Gate 8 leading into the Presidential Villa, causing obstruction to vehicular movement.

Efforts by Villa security personnel to dissuade them from the protest proved abortive as they insisted on seeing the President.

They laid their mats in front of the gate, singing songs of solidarity, while some of them lay on the floor.

As of the time of filing this report, no one from the Villa had addressed the protesters.

CSP Irowainu said that their main purpose is to prevail on President Tinubu to sign the bill exiting the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS, which he said has been passed and transmitted to him by the National Assembly.

He lamented that while other security agencies in the country such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, SSS and others have all been exited from the scheme, the police remain trapped in it.

“Our major aim here is to prevail on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign our bill—the bill exiting the police from the Contributory Pension Scheme—passed by the National Assembly on 4th December 2025 and transmitted to him on 16th March, 2026, into law, nothing more than that.

“The soldiers have been exited, the SSS has been exited, the Air Force has been exited, the Navy has been exited, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has been exited. The police, who are the father of them all, are trapped in this obnoxious Contributory Pension Scheme,” CSP Irowainu said.

It is not the first time retired officers are staging a protest over the CPS. In July last year, they demonstrated at the National Assembly to demand their removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The demonstrators, mostly elderly, stood in the rain holding placards and chanting anti-government songs.

Some of the retired police officers also besieged the Force Headquarters in Abuja to protest against the CPS.

Addressing the protesters at the time, the then Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, said the welfare of retired police officers was being addressed, but that the exit of the Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme was not something that could be implemented immediately.

He, however, advised the leaders of the protest to refrain from spreading misinformation, stressing that the Force could not abandon its own.

News

IGP Disu Orders Ban on Illegal Checkpoints Nationwide

Published

3 weeks ago

April 13, 2026

Eric

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, has issued a sweeping directive to Commissioners of Police nationwide, ordering an immediate end to extortion, illegal checkpoints, harassment of citizens and other misconducts.

He declared that restoring public confidence in the Nigeria Police Force is now a top operational priority.

The order was contained in a signal to members of the police management team including Commissioners of Police (CP) and other operational commanders.

In the marching order, the IGP acknowledged the deep mistrust many Nigerians feel toward officers, describing it as “painful” and unacceptable.

He said citizens now fear encounters with the police as much as they fear criminals, warning that such a reputation cannot continue under his leadership.

According to him, the directive marks the beginning of a determined effort to rebuild discipline within the police and re-establish its legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

The order specifically outlawed the routine collection of money from motorists on highways, the operation of unauthorised checkpoints, and the practice of arresting citizens and forcing them to withdraw cash from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) or Point of Sale (PoS) devices.

The IGP also condemned the use of officers for private duties in homes and businesses, describing such deployments as abuse of authority and a violation of existing presidential directives on VIP protection.

Officers were further directed to comply strictly with approved dress codes, remain clean-shaven and adhere to established uniform regulations.

The police boss warned that harassment of citizens in any form would no longer be tolerated, stressing that the Nigerian public is not the enemy of the Force but the reason for its existence. At the same time, he assured officers that the institution would equally defend them against intimidation or disrespect from members of the public, noting that the dignity of the uniform must be protected on both sides.

Holding command leaders directly accountable, the IGP said Commissioners of Police would henceforth be responsible for misconduct within their jurisdictions.

He ordered them to demonstrate measurable improvements in discipline within seven days or face formal queries and possible transfers where lapses persist.

He emphasised that supervisory failure would no longer be ignored at any level of leadership. To ensure compliance, the directive introduced new oversight measures, including independent monitoring of field operations and public reporting channels through which citizens can lodge complaints directly with Force Headquarters.

A Citizens Commendation System will also be established to recognise officers who demonstrate professionalism, with monthly honours to be drawn from public nominations across commands.

Describing the directive as a decisive turning point, the police chief said Nigerians have grown weary of promises and now expect visible change. He ordered all commanders to brief personnel under their authority within 72 hours and confirm compliance in writing, declaring that the process of cleaning up the Force has begun and will be sustained until public trust is restored.