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Halt this anarchy! *Okorie, APGA founder writes Tinubu on state of the nation
Nothing short of immediate action by President Bola Tinubu to halt the parlous security situation in the country and the bad behaviour of anti-democratic forces will steady the current tempest threatening to sink the ship on which the Nigerian nation is sailing.
This was the conclusion of Chekwas Okorie, founder and first National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in an open letter he fired to the President on Thursday, specifying the dangers ahead of the nation.
Warning of a brewing anarchy in the country, Okorie, himself a once presidential candidate, cited the serious security breaches by criminals wasting the lives of innocent Nigerians alongside the tensions created by political actors who had severally unleashed mayhem to stifle the voices of opposition in the country.
Writing under the banner of Igbo Agenda Dialogue (IAD), the septuagenarian, bemoaned what he described as the deplorable and unprecedented security situation in Nigeria which had led to unenviable international attention.
Okorie, who specifically acknowledged the sacrifices being made by Nigeria’s security agencies to contain the situation, also praised Tinubu’s “bold effort” to push the inevitable state police initiative as worthy of commendation and support by the public.
Regardless, he said the President must do more and urgently too as the Chief Security Officer of the country, especially with Nigeria going into the 2027 election year in a matter of months particularly with the noticeable flashpoints already being witnessed in parts of the country.
Hear him: “The desperate actions and inflammatory rhetoric of political actors in the build-up to the forthcoming general elections have the dangerous tendency to trigger widespread anarchy that may overwhelm the fragile capacity of Nigeria’s security agencies that have been stretched to its limits already.
“The recent attack on Mr. Peter Obi and his associates in Edo State and the subsequent attack on Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi in Rivers State are a few of the provocative and unprovoked attacks that could snowball to spiral reprisal actions.
“Discerning Nigerians are waiting to hear quality proposals by politicians and their political parties especially the ruling party about what they intend to do differently to alleviate the plight of the citizens if given the opportunity to serve in the offices of their aspiration after 2027 elections. Unfortunately what we hear are threats, acerbic tantrum and arrogant claims about how the forthcoming elections have been won and lost.
“Your Excellency, you have a responsibility to assure Nigerians that the 2027 elections will be fair, credible and transparent. You have a responsibility to rein in some of your overzealous aides and appointees to moderate their rhetoric and provocations.
“The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, enjoys obvious incumbency advantages from the Party’s control of the National Assembly to the overwhelming majority of the state and local government structures in the country.
“The ruling party ought to concentrate its efforts on the strategy and issue-based campaigns to translate the advantages it currently enjoys into electoral victory in a free and fair election. The antics of some prominent leaders of the ruling party smacks of panic and lack of confidence.
“Your Excellency, I venture to make a few recommendations that you may consider to ensure that Nigeria will go through the processes of the 2027 general election and come out of it in one piece.
- You have the power under the Nigerian Constitution to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his fellow prisoners of conscience without further delay. This will calm frayed nerves and reduce tension not only in the Southeast geopolitical zone but among Igbo people who are widely spread in Nigeria and abroad. Exercise this special presidential prerogative. It is auspicious and expedient at this time.
- Direct the APC, the Presidency and its numerous state and local governments to set the tone for issue-based campaigns.
- Incessant arrest and detention of high-profile political leaders especially leaders of the opposition political parties which may suggest deliberate clampdown to put them out of circulation at this time should be avoided.
- The federal government and the relevant agencies in collaboration with civil society and prodemocracy organisations must make deliberate efforts to ensure large citizen participation in the 2027 elections.
“The appalling twenty percent turnout in our general elections speaks to the illegitimacy of the outcomes. Nobody who is a product of such outcome should beat his chest and say that the people have spoken through the ballot box.”
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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