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Akpabio to Nigerians: We hear you! *Senate will continue to be accountable
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, for the umpteenth time, assured Nigerians on Tuesday of the resolve of the 10th Senate under his leadership to remain open, accountable and responsive.
Welcoming members of the Red Chambers back in Plenary after about 10 weeks of annual recess, he told them in his opening remarks, titled: Steady Hands For a Great Nation” to resume work with fresh vigour and steadfast resolve and legislate for future generations.
Akpabio said: “To the citizens of Nigeria, we say this: we hear you. We know your expectations. You ask not for excuses but for results; not for noise but for substance. This Senate will remain open, accountable, and responsive. We will not shrink from scrutiny — indeed, we welcome it, for accountability is the lifeblood of democracy.
“But it must be clearly understood: the foundation of every democracy is its legislature. Those who seek to weaken the legislature, in truth, seek to wreck the substructure of democracy itself.”
Commiserating with fellow compatriots across the flood-ravaged states and extended a hand of fellowship and prayers of comfort to every home affected by other disasters, insecurity, hunger and hardship, he added: “Our people do not look to us for lamentations; they look to us for action. The banners of terrorism and banditry still threaten the countryside.
“The cost of living weighs upon the family table like an iron chain. The flickering of our national grid leaves cities in darkness and commerce in paralysis. These trials summon us to service of uncommon urgency — and to partnership with the Executive Arm, that together we rewrite the story of our nation.
“We must legislate with boldness. We must press forward with reforms to steady our economy, draw investment, broaden the tax base, and nurture growth. We must strike hard at the enemies of ignorance and disease by strengthening education and healthcare. We must give the youths of Nigeria not only hope but also opportunity.
“We must revisit the Constitution — to make our federalism stronger, our governance more efficient, and our democracy more inclusive. Above all, we must wield our power of oversight with vigilance, so that the people’s money is spent for the people’s good.
“Our relations with the Executive shall remain frank and firm — neither obsequious nor obstructive. Where policies raise our people, we shall lend our strength; where they imperil them, we shall speak on their behalf. We must continue to uphold the independence of this Senate, the dignity of this chamber, and the majesty of the Constitution which governs us all.
“Distinguished colleagues, let history record that in our time, we did not shirk from truth, nor flinch from responsibility, but urged our people toward leaders worthy of their trust. Let us resume our work with fresh vigour and steadfast resolve.
“Let us legislate not only for the Nigeria of today but for the generations whose faces we shall never see. Let this Senate be remembered as an instrument of national transformation, a citadel of democracy, and a beacon of hope.”
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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