The proposal for implementation of state Police received a noisy on Tuesday, as the Delta State House of Assembly became the sixth State to approved the bill which was sent to the states  by the National Assembly for deliberation and accent

The assembly in an overwhelming vote by all the 23 members present, approved the proposed sixth alteration to the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for the establishment of state police in Nigeria, with all 23 members present voting in favour.

The debate was led by the House Leader during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Emomotimi Guwor.

After the approval, Guwor commended the lawmakers, describing the decision as a significant step towards establishing a policing system that would respond more effectively to security challenges in local communities.

He said the proposed reform could improve intelligence gathering and strengthen efforts to protect lives and property

“For Delta State, this reform holds great promise for protecting lives and property, sustaining peace and creating a safer environment for investment and development,” the Speaker said.

He added that the move aligned with the state government’s MORE Agenda under Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.

The Speaker subsequently directed the Clerk of the House to communicate the Assembly’s approval to the National Assembly for further action.

Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has likened President Bola Tinubu to the Egypt that Nigerians will not return to in 2027, as he continued to make alternatives in rejection of fuel subsidy removal by the president

Atiku was responding to president Bola Tinubu’s statement that he will not return the already removed fuel subsidy regime, saying  doing that would mean returning the country “back to Egypt”

Reacting through a statement by the Director of Strategy and Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said president Tinubu’s remarks has exposed “how little he understands the suffering of Nigerians”.

Atiku said Tinubu boasted of removing the subsidy on his first day in office “like a wicked king recounting the suffering he had inflicted as a triumph.”

The statement read, “Bola, you are the Egypt Nigerians are desperate to escape. You celebrate the day you made fuel more expensive, then lecture families struggling to pay for food and transport about why they must never go back.”

“At least Pharaoh knew he was holding people captive. Tinubu watches families cut meals, workers spend their salaries on transport and businesses struggle to keep their lights on, then tells them a story about Moses. He may quote scripture, but he governs like Pharaoh, Herod and Ahab combined: deaf to the cries of the people, proud of the hardship he has imposed and convinced that power excuses him from answering for it.

“Bola, a mother trying to feed her children cannot pay for food with a metaphor. A worker cannot get to work on a story about the Red Sea. Nigerians are asking how you intend to make life affordable. Answer them.

“I will make life affordable again through practical relief Nigerians can feel. My proposal is clear: give limited, budgeted support only to verified petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. Imported fuel gets nothing. Independent auditors must track every naira, and the benefit must reach consumers in the price they pay. If it does not lower that price, it has failed its purpose.

“But hardship is not the only captivity Nigerians face. Tinubu’s failure on security cannot be buried under Buhari’s record. He asked Nigerians for the presidency knowing that communities were under attack, families were paying ransom and children were afraid to travel to school. He took the oath to protect them. Yet his own campaign Director-General asks, ‘What do you expect Tinubu to do when even Buhari, a general, could not wipe out insecurity?’ Let me remind them that President Yar’Adua was not a sergeant, yet he stamped it out.

“Nigerians expect their President to confront the killers, rescue the abducted and make it possible to travel, farm, work and sleep without fear. If Tinubu cannot tell them how he will do that after more than three years in office, he has no business asking for four more years. The lives lost under his watch are not an argument about his predecessor. They are an indictment of his own leadership.

“And look at what Tinubu asks of the officers sent to protect us. A retired Assistant Superintendent told me he receives ₦29,000 a month. Serving officers are drawing down their pension savings to feed their families. How can a President demand courage from police officers in the field while leaving them worried about food at home and destitution in retirement?

“Bola, answer the retired officers asking for a pension they can live on. Act on the Police Exit Bill and review serving officers’ salaries, as was done for members of the Armed Forces. Give the people who protect Nigerians the pay, healthcare and retirement security their service has earned.

“Stop pointing to Egypt as though it lies behind us. For millions of Nigerians, Egypt is the hunger, fear and indignity they are living through under you. They deserve affordable fuel, safe communities and police officers who can serve without sacrificing their families’ future. Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again.”

From Maurice Ugwoke (Enugu)

The Enugu state government said it is set to commence the payment of twenty five years owed arrears of gratuities of local government retirees in the state.

This was disclosed  by the Deputy Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Enugu State, Hon Ferdinand Ukwueze, while briefing Government House correspondents after the 40th meeting of the Enugu State Economic Planning Commission, which was chaired by Governor Peter Mbah.

Ukwueze, who is also the Chairman of Igboeze South Local Government Area, expressed the determination of the state government to settle inherited gratuity obligations and improve the welfare of retirees.

According to him, “In a very historic manner, the local government system in Enugu State has taken the bold step of aligning with the state’s policy of alleviating the hardship of the masses. In line with the payment of the legacy gratuity that the state government embarked on a couple of days ago, the local governments have also decided at the Economic Planning Commission meeting to step into that arrangement to make sure that we clear all the gratuities we inherited.

“Beginning from this month, we are going to key into what the state government has started implementing already by making sure that we offset those debts. The decision is that starting from this month, 10 per cent of our monthly allocation will be dedicated to that responsibility until it is cleared. So, once we start it, there is no going back. Every worker who worked in our local governments will have access to this entitlement

“For clarity, the arrears are from the year 2000, but, as I said, we are going to clear all the over 25-year legacy gratuities. The reason is to put smiles on the faces of the masses, especially those of them who spent their youthfulness serving the public in our various local government areas.”