Headlines
Reps Minority Caucus Urges Tinubu to Halt Bloodshed in the North, Release El-Rufai
- /home/rhoncare/pointblank.ng/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://pointblank.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/HOUSE-OF-REPS-MEMBERS-e1716461432431.webp&description=Reps Minority Caucus Urges Tinubu to Halt Bloodshed in the North, Release El-Rufai', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/rhoncare/pointblank.ng/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 69
https://pointblank.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/HOUSE-OF-REPS-MEMBERS-e1716461432431.webp&description=Reps Minority Caucus Urges Tinubu to Halt Bloodshed in the North, Release El-Rufai', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take immediate and decisive action to end the escalating wave of terrorism and banditry across Northern Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Thursday amid growing attacks on communities, the caucus said the scale of killings, kidnappings and displacement had become intolerable, urging the President to deploy a sustained and coordinated security operation to reclaim territories controlled by terrorists and criminal gangs.
The lawmakers, in the statement signed by Hon. Fredrick Agbedi, leader minority caucus, and Hon. Afam Victor Ogene minority caucus spokesperson, cited recent attacks in several northern states, including Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kaduna and Katsina, where dozens of residents have reportedly been killed or abducted.
In Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, the caucus said more than 20 people were killed in recent attacks, including at least 23 victims in one incident. In Niger State, armed men reportedly attacked communities in Borgu Local Government Area and abducted more than 60 worshippers during Friday prayers.
The caucus also cited the killing of at least 40 people in Ungushi community, Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State, including the Chief Imam, Imam Aliyu, as well as the death of at least 30 people in an attack on Naridon village in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
According to the lawmakers, continued bandit attacks and reprisals in Katsina State have further deepened fear among residents.
The situation in Borno State was also highlighted, with the caucus expressing concern over schoolchildren who have remained missing months after their abduction.
“This is no longer a situation that can be addressed principally through statements of condemnation after every attack,” the caucus said, insisting that Nigeria needs an “intelligence-led” and sustained security response.
The lawmakers urged Tinubu to replicate on a larger scale the strategy that led to the rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
They called for affected areas to be placed under intensive security operations, with security forces directed to dominate the territory and conduct sustained operations against terrorist and bandit hideouts, forests and criminal enclaves.
The caucus stressed that such measures should target the operational space of criminal groups rather than innocent civilians.
“We are calling on the President to lock down the affected theatres of operation, dominate the territory and sweep the forests, hideouts and criminal enclaves where terrorists and bandits operate. Such an operation must be intelligence-led, professionally executed and sustained until the criminal elements are neutralised and the abducted citizens rescued.
“We are not asking the President to lock down innocent Nigerians. We are asking the Commander-in-Chief to lock down the operational space of terrorists and bandits, deny them freedom of movement, cut off their supply lines and communications and deploy overwhelming force against those who have turned parts of the North into killing fields and centres of mass abduction,” the lawmakers said.
They also urged the President to visit Zamfara State and travel to Illela to engage directly with communities affected by insecurity, arguing that Nigerians need to see their President physically present in areas suffering from attacks and abductions.
The Minority Caucus further called for extraordinary funding for the security campaign, proposing that the Federal Government consider drawing $5 billion from the nation’s external reserves if necessary.
“If funding is an issue, the government should draw $5 billion from the nation’s external reserves for an extraordinary national security intervention. The primary purpose of government is the welfare and security of the people and no expenditure can be more fundamental than protecting the lives and livelihoods of Nigerian citizens,” the caucus said.
The lawmakers welcomed the recent increase in the salaries of members of the Armed Forces, describing it as an important step towards improving the welfare and morale of soldiers. However, they urged the President to immediately forward the necessary amendment to the 2026 Appropriation Act and a Supplementary Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.
They said the National Assembly should be prepared to reconvene, if necessary, to ensure that the salary increase is implemented without bureaucratic delays.
The statement also addressed the detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, which it said “has increasingly assumed the character of a political persecution.”
The caucus demanded his immediate release, arguing “our concern is not merely about one individual. It is about the credibility and consistency of the Federal Government’s anti-corruption campaign. The composition of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and the prominent roles occupied within that political structure by individuals who have themselves been the subject of serious corruption allegations and public controversy, has made a mockery of the government’s claim to be pursuing a principled and even-handed war against corruption.
“It is difficult for the government to demand public confidence in its anti-corruption campaign when the political architecture through which the President seeks the mandate of Nigerians included individuals whose records and allegations have raised serious questions about the integrity of that campaign.”
The Minority Caucus said Nigerians needed action rather than condolences and called on President Tinubu to use his constitutional authority and the country’s security resources to protect citizens.
“The bloodshed in Northern Nigeria must stop. The abducted must be rescued. The terrorists and bandits must be defeated,” the caucus said.
President Bola Tinubu has told members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council not to expect him to accompany them to every campaign event ahead of the 2027 general election, saying he must remain focused on governance and the country’s economic responsibilities.
Tinubu spoke on Wednesday during the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja, where he urged members to take the party’s message to Nigerians across the states and local government areas while he continues to attend to matters of governance.
The president said he agreed with concerns that the demands of the campaign should not distract him from running the country, adding that Nigeria needs his attention at the moment.
“You’ve warned me not to allow the rigour of the campaign to distract me from governance, I hear you. I am in full agreement with your decision. Nigeria needs more attention now,” Tinubu said.
He told council members to excuse him from accompanying them to every campaign event, noting that his administration has bills to pay and international financial obligations to meet.
“So, you will excuse me from going everywhere with you, we have bills to pay. The American creditors cannot wait,” the President said.
Tinubu also said the government needs to attract investors who would commit to long-term investments in Nigeria and contribute to the future of the country’s children.
“We want those investors to come in, be here to stay, to invest for the future of our children,” he said.
The president, however, assured Nigerians that he would continue to engage them directly even as the campaign council took charge of mobilisation across the country.
“However, I will still make time to speak directly with Nigerians, even as you lead the campaign in the states and local government areas,” he said.
Tinubu described the inauguration of the council as more than a campaign activity, saying it represents a renewed commitment to Nigerians and the responsibilities of the ruling party.
“We have not gathered merely to inaugurate a council. We have gathered to renew a covenant. A covenant with Nigerian people and the historic responsibility they have entrusted to us as Nigeria’s governing party,” he said.
He added that the council is expected to communicate the administration’s vision, achievements and agenda to voters nationwide.
“This council will carry our vision, our records and our agenda to every Nigerian, and it will carry them to victory every ward of this country,” Tinubu said.
The president also commended APC members for completing the party’s congresses, recalling that some had predicted internal crises during the process.
He said the party has overcome the challenges and emerged united, crediting members for participating in the process from the ward level to the national leadership.
“They said there will be implosion. We passed through it. We did not fail. You didn’t let us down. We got here together,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has named Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Ademola Adeleke, Osun State governor; and Chukwuma Soludo, Anambra State governor, as campaign coordinators in its expanded presidential campaign council for the 2027 general election, despite their affiliations with other political parties.
Wike belongs to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Soludo is a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), while Adeleke won re-election as Osun governor in 2026 under the Accord Party.
Under the new arrangement, Wike will coordinate the APC campaign in Rivers State and the FCT, Soludo will oversee Anambra, while Adeleke will coordinate the campaign in Osun.
The expanded list is scheduled for inauguration by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday.
The APC initially released its campaign council list on August 22, naming Abdulaziz Yari, former Zamfara governor, as director-general. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Yobe Governor Mai Mala Buni were appointed deputy director-generals.
In the revised list, Akpabio, Abbas and Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq are deputy vice-chairmen I, II and III, respectively, while Buni becomes deputy director-general I for the North.
The council also includes former governors and party chieftains as advisers, which include former APC national chairmen Adebisi Akande and Abdullahi Adamu; former Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun; former Osun State Governor Iyiola Omisore; Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo; Senator George Akume; former Ogun State Governor Segun Osoba; and Wale Edun. Obafemi George is listed as an adviser on media.
The Directorate of Election Planning, Coordination, Monitoring and Mobilisation, established ahead of the 2027 general election, has Faleke as Deputy Director-General, with Stella Okotete and Engr. Abdullahi Garba Ramat serving as Secretary I and Secretary II, respectively. Audu Maikori is also listed as a secretary.
Other members of the directorate include Soares Omotola, Bashir Dabo, Sheriff Mohammed Usman, Jibrin Bancir, Ayoola Peter Olajolo, Abubakar Sadiq Sada and Princess Folasade Ogunbiyi.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has questioned how the Federal government’s 30-day petrol price discount would reduce poverty, unemployment, insecurity and inequality in the country.
Obi raised the questions in a statement posted on his X platform on Sunday, describing the initiative as a reactive policy that substitutes political optics for sound economic planning.
He argued that the discount, which he said amounts to less than five per cent of petrol costs, is unlikely to address the wider economic challenges facing Nigerians.
“The announcement by the APC-led Federal government offering a 30-day discount on price of petrol to relieve the acute hardship and hunger caused Nigerians by its unplanned removal of subsidy can only be described as another very reactive and confused approach to governance that is now the culture of the Tinubu government,” he said.
Obi said he had delayed commenting on the policy to allow time to assess its outcome, but maintains that the measure has not demonstrated a sustainable approach to addressing the country’s economic difficulties.
He recalled that President Bola Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023, arguing that the decision was taken without adequate consultation or a proper assessment of its likely effects on the economy and the livelihoods of ordinary Nigerians.
According to Obi, the subsidy removal was followed by other policies, including the floating of the Naira and tax reforms, which he argued are being implemented without proper sequencing and coordination.
He also criticised the government’s handling of multiple budgets, arguing that the combined effect of the policies has contributed to inflation and rising costs of goods and services.
Obi attributed what he described as increasing multidimensional poverty, business closures, unemployment, insecurity, widening inequality and youth migration to the economic pressures arising from the policies.
He also said the policies had weakened the general well-being of Nigerians, insisting that the government should assess their impact before introducing temporary relief measures.
The former Anambra State governor called for a detailed and publicly available regulatory impact assessment of government policies, arguing that such an exercise would help identify their effects and guide necessary adjustments.
He said a government committed to sustainable economic growth should engage stakeholders and ordinary citizens in consultations to develop inclusive policies that improve living conditions and expand economic opportunities.
Questioning the objectives of the petrol discount, Obi asked whether it would increase productivity and exports or whether it was intended to determine if the subsidy should be restored.
“Will it reduce poverty, unemployment, insecurity, and inequality? Will it increase productivity and exports? Is it a test to ascertain if subsidy should be restored? Is it another political gambit in the face of threats of electoral loss in the 2027 election?” he asked.
“Too many questions, no answer!” the former Governor of Anambra State added.
