General
Gbajabiamila Leads Presidential Working Group on State Police
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to prepare the legal framework for the implementation of state police across the country.
President Tinubu, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, inaugurated the panel at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The inauguration followed the National Assembly’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, in which the President proposes a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services.
The President said that while the constitutional amendment creates the framework for state police, the National Policing Bill would provide the legal structure for its implementation.
“The Constitution Amendment Bill establishes the framework for dual policing, but it does not operationalise it. That work is left to the National Policing Bill.”
He said the proposed legislation would address issues necessary for a smooth operationalisation of the State Police system.
“The proposed National Policing Bill will include provisions on minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination, accountability, human rights safeguards and fiscal conditions.”
The President said that the committee will produce an implementation-ready draft bill immediately after the constitutional amendment process.
“The Working Group has been constituted to produce a technically robust, implementation-ready draft National Policing Bill for transmission to the National Assembly,” President Tinubu said.
He said the committee was necessary to avoid delays after the State Police bill passed.
“We must not wait until the constitutional process is concluded before beginning this important assignment,” he said.
Mr Gbajabiamila will serve as the committee’s chairman. Members include the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police, the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police. A Secretariat will offer some administrative assistance to the committee.
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, on behalf of the NGF, pledged governors’ support for the speedy implementation of the reform.
He said the plan is for the 36 state governors to accelerate work on the bill once it reaches their respective Houses of Assembly and is passed unanimously.
Mr Abiodun described the proposed state police as a response to Nigerians’ long-standing demand for community-based policing.
“This bill has answered the cries of Nigerians about cascading policing and removing it from the Exclusive Legislative List.”
He said the initiative validated the success of regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West.
Mr Abiodun said the state police would significantly increase the number of security personnel nationwide.
“If each state deploys about 6,000 personnel, we will add nearly 200,000 officers to complement the existing federal police.”
The Governor commended President Tinubu for initiating implementation plans before the constitutional amendment process was completed.
“This inauguration demonstrates the proactiveness of the Executive in preparing for effective implementation,” Mr Abiodun said.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, described the initiative as timely in view of Nigeria’s security challenges.
“There is no denying the fact that we are in a critical moment security-wise, and all hands must be on deck,” he said.
Mr Fagbemi urged governors to ensure speedy ratification of the constitutional amendment by their respective state assemblies.
“I appeal to the governors to do their utmost to ensure the early passage of the constitutional amendment because this is a shared responsibility,” he said.
President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Afam Osigwe, reaffirmed the association’s support for the state police initiative.
“Nigeria can hardly be effectively policed by one national police. We fully support the constitutional amendment providing for state police,” he said.
Mr Osigwe, however, stressed the need for adequate legal safeguards to prevent abuse of state police.
“We must ensure we do not create a monster. The right legal framework must guarantee accountability and prevent oppression,” he said.
He pledged the NBA’s commitment to supporting the committee in producing legislation that will strengthen security while protecting citizens’ rights.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
There are plans for Nigeria to begin to generate electricity from nuclear sources, the chief executive of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), Mr Anthony Godwin Ekedegwa, has revealed.
Mr Ekedegwa made this disclosure when he recently visited the acting Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr Umar Yusuf Girei, in Abuja.
He was at NIWA’s office to solicit the support of NIWA in achieving the numerous advantages of using nuclear energy technology in the country.
According to him, the partnership of critical stakeholders in Nigeria will position the country well in developing and maintaining its nuclear power plant.
The NAEC chief said Nigeria intends to begin the generation of electricity from nuclear sources instead of fossil-based power plants and hydro-based power plants, stressing that for Nigeria to develop, there is a need for the country to diversify its energy needs.
In his remarks, Mr Girei assured NAEC of his agency’s readiness to collaborate on the advancement of a nuclear power plant in Nigeria.
He promised the full support of NAEC for the success of a nuclear power plant in the country, saying that as the organisation saddled with the responsibility of regulating and developing Nigeria Inland Waterways, his entity is strategically positioned to play a critical role in the federal government’s quest for sustainable energy through the new technology.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has ordered the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Olatunji Disu, to ensure the appearance of the agency’s alleged Director-General, Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi, before the panel on July 29, 2026.
Mr Adeyemi was recently arrested after a court directed the police to do so.
The lawmakers’ call came on Monday just as the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, said that his office declined a request by the PFIPC to open a Treasury Single Account (TSA), insisting that due diligence had not been completed.
Mr Ogunjimi, who spoke when he appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee, explained that though the council requested the opening of a TSA account, his office declined the request pending compliance with established due diligence requirements.
The PFIPC controversy began after the self-acclaimed director-general of the disputed agency, Mr Adeyemi, alleged during a presser that the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, demanded 48 per cent from its N27.3 billion take-off grant.
Mr Adeyemi had also alleged that the Chief of Staff received N400 million through a proxy and requested an additional N200 million to facilitate presidential approvals.
However, Mr Gbajabiamila denied the allegations in a statement on oath, maintaining that he had no personal, official or professional relationship with Mr Adeyemi. He also denied demanding or receiving any money, abusing his office or interfering with law enforcement agencies.
The Chief of Staff further denied any involvement in the alleged death of Mr Babatunde Tanimola, whom Mr Adeyemi claimed acted as an intermediary, as well as allegations linking him to an alleged assassination attempt on the defendant or interference with investigations by security agencies.
Following the allegations, President Bola Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the matter.
Also, Mr Gbajabiamila instituted a N15 billion defamation suit against the disputed DG at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
In the suit, he sought N10 billion in general damages, N5 billion in aggravated damages, N200 million as the cost of the action, and an order directing Mr Adeyemi to publish a retraction and apology in five national newspapers and across all social media platforms where the alleged defamatory statements were published.
Following the outrage generated by the issue, the House of Representatives inaugurated a 12-member ad hoc committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the disputed agency and the process through which it was included in the 2026 budget.
The committee is also investigating the alleged allocation of N1.3 billion to the agency in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The committee is chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, who assured Nigerians that the panel would conduct a thorough and impartial investigation.
Last week, the ICPC confirmed that it questioned Mr Gbajabiamila over the disputed PFIPC, but didn’t give further details on its next step.
During her appearance, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Esther Walson-Jack, said her office did not allocate office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja nor deploy staff to the PFIPC.
“The request for deployment of officers was received and noted for consideration. However, there was no deployment of officers by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to the council,” said Mr Walson-Jack.
The Head of Service also noted that “while there is speculation that the council occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat Phase Three,” her office could state categorically that it “did not allocate any office space to the PFIPC”.
Similarly, the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Tanimu Yakubu, told the committee that no kobo appropriated for the disputed agency was spent.
Mr Yakubu maintained that while the National Assembly approved funds for the council, the statutory conditions required to release, pay, or spend the money were never met.
“The conclusion is firm. Not one kobo of the personnel provision could lawfully have been drawn, and not one kobo was drawn. The overhead provision never matured into a lawful cash release,” Yakubu said.
“The capital provision never matured into procurement or expenditure. The conditions required for spending were not met and were not close to being met. There is therefore no personnel expenditure to recover. The money never moved because the controls held.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s continued reliance on domestic borrowing, despite the windfall reportedly made when oil prices surged following the US-Iran war.
Mr Abubakar, in a statement issued on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr Phrank Shaibu, described the federal government’s fiscal approach as inconsistent, lacking transparency and failing to demonstrate prudent financial management.
He questioned the rationale behind accumulating fresh debt despite what he described as a significant revenue boost from high global crude oil prices.
Mr Abubakar claimed that the Mr Tinubu-led administration has raised approximately N5 trillion from the domestic bond market during the first half of 2026, representing nearly 80 per cent of the amount borrowed within the same period in 2025.
This is even as he argued that such borrowing would ordinarily be justified only if government revenues had fallen sharply.
“The exact opposite is the case,” he said.
He noted that the 2026 national budget was based on a crude oil benchmark of $64.84 per barrel, while Brent crude averaged about $92 per barrel between March 1 and July 14. He added that Nigerian crude traditionally sells at a premium above Brent prices.
The former vice president said the difference between the budget benchmark and prevailing market prices translated into substantial additional revenue for the country.
“This naturally raises two unavoidable questions. First, why is a government enjoying such an extraordinary oil windfall borrowing at almost twice last year’s pace as though the nation were in financial distress? Second, where is the money?” he queried.
He estimated that the price differential generated an additional $27.15 per barrel, amounting to roughly $42.7 million in extra daily earnings based on an average production of 1.5 million barrels per day.
Over 135 days, Mr Abubakar said the excess revenue amounted to approximately $5.76 billion, equivalent to about N7.98 trillion.
He recalled that previous administrations maintained formal structures, including the Sovereign Wealth Fund and other fiscal buffers, to manage excess crude earnings and ensure accountability.
The ADC presidential candidate also expressed concern that despite increased oil revenues and the removal of fuel subsidy, many Nigerians continue to experience worsening economic hardship.
He cited recent United Nations findings indicating that nearly 80 per cent of Nigerians are unable to afford a decent daily meal, while infrastructure deficits persist despite government assurances that subsidy savings would be invested in critical sectors such as healthcare, education and road infrastructure.
The former VP said an ADC-led administration would adopt a rules-based fiscal framework to ensure transparency in the management of revenues earned above the budget oil benchmark.
He said surplus earnings would be channelled towards reducing public debt, strengthening fiscal reserves and financing investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare and agriculture.
“Nigerians deserve answers. They deserve accountability. Above all, they deserve a government that manages national wealth in the public interest, not one that presides over unprecedented opacity while asking future generations to repay debts incurred in the midst of plenty,” he said.
Mr Abubakar also argued that the Tinubu administration had recently embraced a power sector strategy he first advocated more than two decades ago.
He said comments by the Minister of Power acknowledging that Nigeria could no longer rely solely on large, centralised power plants amounted to an endorsement of his long-standing position on decentralised electricity generation.
“It should not take a government three years in office to discover what was obvious more than two decades ago,” Atiku said.
He criticised the administration for increasing electricity tariffs before implementing reforms capable of improving power supply.
“A government that thinks before it acts would have fixed the system before asking citizens to pay more. Unfortunately, this administration has done the exact opposite, raising tariffs first and only now beginning to think about the reforms required to justify those increases,” he said.
The politician recalled that while serving under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he consistently advocated decentralising electricity generation by harnessing multiple energy sources, including hydroelectric power, natural gas and solar energy.
“This has been my position for over two decades. When President Obasanjo established the Power Sector Reform Committee based primarily on gas-fired generation, I was appointed chairman.
“However, because I fundamentally disagreed with the policy direction, I declined to preside over the committee. I believed then, as I do now, that Nigeria’s electricity future lay in a diversified and decentralised energy mix, not an overdependence on a single source.”
“Nigeria does not suffer from a shortage of ideas. It suffers from a shortage of leaders willing to act on the right ideas at the right time.
“It is never too late to embrace the right policy, but Nigerians should never have had to pay the price for a government that spent three years learning what should have guided its actions from day one,” he added.
