Our Reporter 

Members of the opposition who are crying foul over alleged intimidation should learn how to manage themselves in opposition instead of blaming President Bola Tinubu.

Mr. Otunba S. Showunmi, a vocal member of the President Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 election, stated this on Sunday in Kaduna while fielding questions from journalists at a thank you visit press briefing.

Showunmi said many of those complaining today are politicians who have done party-to-party transfers between the PDP and APC, with one party spending 16 years in power.

According to him, what he has observed with the so-called opposition is that they complain about everything, but disorganize their own party and fail to go to court or do the needful, yet want Nigerians to believe they are being victimized.

“If they don’t know how to do opposition, they can write a proper letter that, Oh, President Bola Tinubu, even though we know you are busy as President now, we want you to come and start a curriculum to teach us how to manage ourselves in opposition,” he said.

He said when opposition brings up one or two situations, things are mostly exaggerated.

Showunmi argued that any presidential candidate who enters another man’s town, declares a cafe open, enters the market and starts instigating the environment, with the kind of insecurity challenges in the country, should for his own safety inform authorities so he can be protected, including from infighting in his own party.

“If they block them, they will not investigate whether it is even their own people that collected their platform without doing the needful. They will just assume it is the government,” he said.

He urged anyone who experiences anything untoward to report to the police, stressing that President Tinubu has not given the police any directive to stop people from moving around freely.

“If you write a letter or tell the government you are coming to his state, it is just decency,” he said.

Showunmi decried the attitude of making Nigeria the most hated country, saying there is something called the Nigerian tribe that belongs to Nigerians who love their country, and if there is a challenge, channels for dealing with it exist.

“Let them campaign on issues. Poverty in the land is an issue. If you see poverty, what are you going to do about it? Telling lies that your mother died because you don’t have money while your party governed for 24 years, that is not campaign, that is incitement,” he said.

He added: “Laws are designed to be obeyed. There is no nation in the world where people don’t complain later. I can tell you for free, the immediate past President of Brazil, Bolsonaro, is in prison now for election manipulation. The President of America, Donald Trump, even when he lost the election before he came back, he did not complain that they were bullying him.”

“Anybody that cannot stand the cold should not go to the river. I am not saying they should be scared that they will be arrested. But stop making our country look bad. We have a duty to protect our country too. We cannot have the whole world spitting on us and disrespecting us because we are the chief disrespecters of ourselves,” Showunmi said.

He said questions meant for the President’s team would be forwarded to Dele Alake and Bayo Onanuga for response.

Our Reporter 

Katsina State is pursuing a two pronged approach to improving its electricity infrastructure, with the Federal Government launching a 120MVA transmission substation in Mashi and Governor Dikko Umaru Radda announcing progress on a proposed 10megawatt renewable energy project.

The initiatives featured on Friday as the Minister of Power Engineer Joseph Olasunkanmi joined state government officials and other stakeholders for the groundbreaking ceremony of the transmission facility in Mashi Local Government Area. The substation is expected to be completed in March 2027.

The Mashi project is part of three transmission substation projects approved for Katsina by the Federal Government. The investment is intended to expand the state’s transmission capacity and improve the infrastructure needed to deliver available electricity to communities and economic centres.

Speaking at the ceremony, Olasunkanmi said the facility would be equipped with two 60MVA transformers, giving it a combined capacity of 120MVA. This represents approximately 96 megawatts of active power at a power factor of 0.8

The minister explained that strengthening the transmission network was important for supporting economic activities, particularly among farmers, traders, artisans and small businesses whose operations depend on electricity. He noted that improved infrastructure could also contribute to better household welfare and create conditions for increased productivity.

Olasunkanmi attributed the project to the Federal Government’s commitment to power sector development under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, commending the president for supporting investments aimed at strengthening critical infrastructure across the country.

On implementation, the minister disclosed that compensation related issues affecting the project had been resolved. He called on the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the contractor and supervising engineers to ensure that construction proceeded efficiently and met the required technical standards.

He said the March 2027 completion target required close attention to workmanship, safety and quality at every stage, from civil engineering works to equipment installation and testing.The minister also urged residents to protect the facility and cooperate with personnel working on the site.

Beyond the federal transmission project, Radda used the occasion to provide an update on Katsina’s renewable energy plans, announcing that components for a proposed 10MW hybrid power project combining wind and solar energy had arrived in Nigeria.

The governor said the initiative was being pursued through collaboration between the Federal Government and the Katsina State Government. The project is expected to add a renewable energy component to ongoing efforts to improve the state’s electricity infrastructure.

Gov Radda expressed hope that the minister would return to Katsina for the commissioning of the hybrid project alongside the completion of the transmission substations, highlighting the importance of sustained cooperation between both tiers of government in addressing the state’s energy needs.

The governor also acknowledged President Tinubu’s approval of three transmission substation projects for Katsina, describing the investments as significant for the state’s development. He reaffirmed his administration’s readiness to work with federal institutions to advance projects with tangible benefits for residents.

He further pointed to the railway project connecting Kano, Daura and Katsina, with a proposed extension to Maradi in the Republic of Niger as another major infrastructure undertaking with potential implications for transportation, trade and regional economic integration.

The Mashi substation in particular, is designed to improve transmission capacity rather than independently generate additional electricity.

From Salisu Zakari Maradun, Gusau.

The Independent National Electotral Commission, (IHEC) Zamfara office, has organised a one-day sensitisation exercise for the persons with disabilities in the State.

Alhaji Mahmud Yahaya, the resident Commissioner of the body in the State while declaring the exercise open,  told the gathering that the essence of the exercise was to among other things, give the category of people a sense of belonging.

He said their inclusion in the series of the activities of the government across the nation was aimed at giving them the opportunity to take part in any national issue affecting the nation.

According to Yahaya, persons with disabilities are all equal with the rest of other people, adding that they are all human beings.

The REC also stated that persons with disabilities across the globe are recognised as human beings, and that discriminating against them is an offence, because they have their own role to play.

Speaking further, Alhaji Mahmud revealed that such category of people also deserve all respect, and must.be attended to for whatever the demand they come.

In his remarks, the leader of the persons with disabilities I the State, Muhammad idris expressed happiness over their inclusion in its activities of the government, and assured their readiness toward giving their contribution positively for the development of all the programmes and policies of the government for the betterment of all. “We will do all our best within our reach toward making in particular, the current preparations embarked upon by the government I respect of the forthcoming 2027 general elections.

He also assured the REC of the seriousness of his people toward making the elections a hitch-free one, even as he called on all and sundry to rally round the INEC in its quest to ridding it of bad among them.