…Writes Senate on regional body’s resolutions
…Says military intervention, other measures possible if junta adamant
…Northern senators kick against armed onslaught, urge diplomatic solution
…Coupists defiant; severe ties with Nigeria, France, others
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has written to the Senate to inform it of the coup in Niger Republic and the resolutions of the Economic Committee of West African States (ECOWAS) on how to return the democratically elected government to power.
President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio read Tinubu’s letter on the floor during plenary.
The letter was entitled: “Implementation of the resolutions of the Economic Committee of West African States (ECOWAS) on the political situation in Niger Republic.”
Tinubu said: “I present my modest compliments to the Distinguished Senate President and Distinguished Senators.
“I do have the honour to inform you that following the unfortunate political situation in Niger Republic culminating in the overthrow of His Excellency, President Mohammed Bazoum on July 26, 2023, the Economic Community of West African States under my leadership condemned the coup in its entirety and resolved alongside other members of the international community to seek the return of the democratically elected government in Niger.
“Consequently, in a bid to broker peace and restore democracy in the country, the ECOWAS convened an extra-ordinary summit of the authority of Heads of States and Governments on Sunday, July 30, 2023, in Abuja.
“The body consisted of the African Union and ECOWAS Protocols on constitutional changes of government thereafter issued a communiqué, a copy attached, on the line of action decided upon by Member States.
“As chair of ECOWAS, Nigeria has the obligation to lead in the implementation of the directives outlined in the communiqué. I have directed all our extra-ministerial developments and agencies including military and paramilitary agencies which actions include: Closure and monitoring of all land borders with Niger Republic and re-activation of the border drill exercise; cutting off electricity supply to Niger Republic; mobilising international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communiqué; preventing the operation of commercial and special flights into and from Niger Republic and blockade of goods in transit to Niger Republic, especially from Lagos and the Eastern seaports.
“Others are: Embarking on sensitisation of Nigerians and Nigerians on the imperative of these actions, particularly via social media; military build-up and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance by the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant to the ECOWAS communiqué.”
However, shortly after the letter was read, a former Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate, Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), raised a constitutional point of order to draw the attention of the Senate to the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution on how the armed forces could be deployed on a combat duty outside Nigeria.
He said his point of order was aimed at guiding the Senate on the matter.
Ningi read Section 5(5) of the Constitution which states that, “Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-Section (4) of this Section, the president, in consultation with the National Defence Council, may deploy members of the armed forces of the Federation on a limited combat duty outside Nigeria if he is satisfied that the national security is under imminent threat or danger provided that the president shall, within seven days of actual combat engagement, seek the consent of the Senate and the Senate shall thereafter give or refuse the said consent within 14 days.”
In his response, Akpabio said Ningi’s point of order was noted.
Northern senators kick
Hours after President Tinubu formally informed the Senate of impending military action, the Northern senators’ caucus kicked against the move.
They, in a statement signed by their spokesperson, Suleiman Kawu (NNPP, Kano South), called for caution on the planned military action and kicked against economic sanctions being imposed on the country by ECOWAS.
The statement read in part, “We, the Northern senators of the Northern Senators Caucus of the 10th Senate under the leadership of Sen. Abdul Ahmad Ningi, note with concern and condemn in its entirety the unfortunate development in Niger Republic, where the military forcefully upstaged a democratically elected government of President Mohammed Bazoum.
“The Northern senators also take cognisance of the efforts of the ECOWAS leaders under the chairmanship of our dear president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in resolving the situation in Niger Republic. The emphasis however, should be focused on political and diplomatic means to restore democratic government in Niger Republic.
“We also take exception to the use of military force until other avenues as mentioned above are exhausted as the consequences will be casualties among the innocent citizens who go about their daily business. Besides, about seven northern states who share a border with Niger Republic namely: Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Bomo will be negatively affected.
“We are also aware of the situation of Mali, Burkina Faso and Libya, which may affect the seven Northern states, if military force is used. There are serious implications for our country if military force is used without exhausting all diplomatic channels.
“As democrats and representatives of the people we are hereby urging our colleagues to observe due diligence in invoking Section 5 sub- Section (4) (a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to guide President Tinubu on the planned military action.”
Defiance
Meanwhile, the coupists have remained adamant and have cut off ties with Nigeria, France, and other countries after the peace talks by delegates sent by the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and the junta failed.
According to a report by Radio France International on Friday, the delegation from the ECOWAS arrived in Niamey with the aim of establishing a dialogue with the junta in order to obtain the return to constitutional order.
While the first delegation led by former Nigerian Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), had engagement with the coupists and other parties in the Nigerien impasse in the country’s capital, Niamey, another delegation led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe also engaged with the leaders of Libya and Algeria on the coup.
Prior to the development, President Bola Tinubu, who is the ECOWAS chairman, had met with some fellow ECOWAS leaders to discuss the appropriate ways to restore democracy in Niger Republic.
The West African leaders met to discuss sanctions to be placed against the military personnel that overthrew the president of Niger Republic, Mohamed Bazoum, on July 26, 2023.
Sanctions
In a bid to sanction the coupists, President Tinubu ordered power supply cuts from Nigeria to Niger on August 3.
Similarly, France and the United States, two allies of President Bazoum, imposed sanctions on the beleaguered country by suspending financial and commercial transactions and freezing the assets of the coupists.
Indeed, France on Friday also rejected the junta’s move to scrap bilateral military pacts, saying the only West African country’s “legitimate” leadership alone was entitled to do so.
“The legal framework of France’s defence agreement with Niger is based on accords that were signed with the legitimate Nigerien authorities,” the foreign ministry said after the junta in Niamey said it was cancelling military cooperation agreements with Paris.
Tinubu vows to remove obstacles against stable power supply (2nd)
…Warns NNPCL on its 3-year timeline
…Reiterates vow to boost power generation beyond the current 12, 000MW
By Abdullahi M. Gulloma
Abuja
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday declared that despite the nation’s current rate of energy supply, his administration was poised to address all the obstacles militating against stable electricity supply in the country.
He said his administration would bring solutions to the multifarious challenges across the electric power sector value-chain “which will significantly relieve long-standing problems of suppressed demand and improve the steadiness of peak supply for Nigerians.”
The president made the declarations at the ground-breaking ceremonies of the new 350MW Gwagwalada Independent Thermal Power Plant (Phase 1), urging the NNPC and its partners to deliver the landmark project within the promised three years’ completion timeline, insisting that “three years must be three years.”
He said, “Although the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) is currently characterized by huge supply-gap deficits owing to dilapidated power infrastructure and poor distributions networks, amongst others, this administration is poised to address every power value chain challenge that will significantly relieve the suppressed demand, enhance generation, and improve national peak growth & sustainability far above the hitherto abysmal and unacceptable 5,300MW for over 200 million Nigerians.”
President Tinubu noted that a swift improvement in the stability and quantum of energy supply would enhance national economic development “which remains a cardinal priority of my administration.”
“During my electioneering, I made a commitment to Nigerians on providing stable electricity. This is to be achieved by ensuring that we use all available energy sources to boost power generation beyond the current installed capacity of 12, 000 megawatts, strengthening the integrity of our transmission infrastructure and ensuring that all distribution bottlenecks are removed.
“We can not form the productive and industrialised economy we need in order to conclusively tackle poverty, and create thousands of high- paying manufacturing jobs for our teeming young people, whose creativity and talent we must harness for national development, without reliable electricity.”
“To accelerate our economic growth, we must work hard to remove every obstacle that has slowed down our progress. I have often said that electricity is the greatest human invention of the last 1,000 years.
“We cannot advance and join the rest of the developed world if we remain stuck with our current electricity supply situation and unable to supply the energy our country requires to power a doubling of the size of our Gross Domestic Product within the next decade,” he said.
The President expressed excitement that the landmark project was commencing at the onset of his administration.
“The groundbreaking for the Gwagwalada thermal power plant (Phase 1) is highly significant to the nation, as it marks the first bold step and the beginning of the administration’s concerted efforts to entrench a strong and virile energy foundation for uninterrupted power supply to boost the economy and accelerate industrial growth.
“The Gwagwalada 350MW (Phase 1) project is part of an incremental 3,600MW cumulative power project that is based on market-driven designs along the Abuja, Kaduna and Kano (AKK) gas pipeline corridors, which will further underpin the project’s economic viability while generating multiple foreign direct investments (FDIs) for the nation.”
The president pledged his administration’s commitment to addressing the power challenges and gas utilisation with a clear focus on advancing the diversification of its energy mix.
“Nigeria will continue to vigorously pursue the implementation of other low-Carbon energy options as part of a larger mix, such as Solar, Hydro, Wind, Thermal and bio-fuels (for both on grid and off-grid power systems) to help shore-up our national energy supply to meet the growing domestic demands and ensure that adequate energy penetrates the homes of our people with a view to improving the standard of living of our people in the rural areas,” he said.
Commendations
While commending the NNPCL for leveraging on the established AKK Gas pipeline through this laudable project, the president charged the NNPCL to ensure the prompt and early completion of the project.
“While planning this project, the prudent use of resources has been given top priority, as by this endeavor, Nigeria will strategically underpin the commerciality of the multi-billion dollar AKK gas pipeline, even as we evolve a competitive low-power tariff structure and revitalize numerous industries that will create millions of direct and indirect jobs.
“I would like to commend the efforts of the NNPC Ltd, alongside General Electric and CMEC, for this business partnership initiative and I hereby charge the team to ensure that this three year project is successfully implemented on the agreed scope, time, and budget.”
Kyari’s remarks
Also speaking, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Ltd., Malam Mele Kyari, said the NNPC Ltd. would leverage on the nation’s endowment of gas resources to power the country’s industrial growth and stimulate ubiquitous job creation.
He added that through the project, the NNPC Ltd would be providing a huge boost to the national grid.
He assured the President that NNPC Ltd will continue to execute power projects to enhance energy security, noting that several of such have already been completed.
These, according to the NNPCL Group CEO, include the 50MW Maiduguri Power Plant, and the 900MW and 1, 300MW power plants in Kaduna and Kano, respectively.
2023 NECO SSCE best organised in recent years, 1.2m candidates registered – Wushishi (3rd)
By Uji A.Iliyasu, Abuja and Mohammed Tanko, Jos
The Registrar/Chief Executive of National Examinations Council (NECO), Professor Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, has said the 2023 SSCE which would be concluded next week “is the best organised in recent years,” adding that 1.2 million candidates had registered.
He disclosed further that various measures had been put in place to check examination malpractice, and that it had started yielding positive results.
This was contained in a statement issued Friday by NECO’s Head of Department (HOD), Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani.
It added that Prof. Wushishi said this in Jos, the Plateau state capital on Friday while monitoring the conduct of the examination in some schools.
Wushishi disclosed that out of this figure, 601,074 candidates were males while 584,814 were females, and expressed satisfaction with the general conduct of the examination based on the reports obtained from across the country.
The registrar who monitored the examination at Air Force Military School; King and Queens Academy, and Emmanuel International College, all in Jos, said he was satisfied with the conduct of the examination in those schools.
The statement added that Wushishi had earlier monitored the conduct of the examination in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa and Bauchi states.
