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General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Enoch Adeboye, has flayed the state of insecurity in the country, saying Nigeria is at war and that no one is safe.
The cleric, in a sermon, yesterday, at the Ebute-Metta, Lagos headquarters of the Church, with the topic ‘Perfect Peace in the Land’ said insecurity had gone from bad to worse, such that even kings were no longer safe as kidnappers now invade palaces to kidnap monarchs.
He said the atrocities in the land might continue until citizens return to God and pray for His reign over the country.
He also spoke against the rise in the price of food and cost of living.
He, however, tasked Nigerians to pray for good leadership and for the land to experience peace.
“A whole nation can be in a storm. If a governor cannot go to his farm and feel safe, despite the security guards, he has to thank God that he returned safely, despite the bodyguard. For that matter, a governor. When we talk about security, the governor should be secured. When a governor utters such a statement, then you know the situation we are in.
“As young as I am, I remember a time when the king was coming. Unless you were one of the very special people, you had to move out of the way. But things are different now. Kidnappers can go to the palace and kidnap the king. Don’t let anybody deceive you; we are in a war.”
Turning to scriptures, Adeboye said: “He said in His word that if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.
“We need to keep praying for our leaders. The hearts of kings and rulers are in the hand of God. We need to pray to God to touch their hearts so that we can enjoy ourselves. It doesn’t matter how much they are selling bread, there will always be bread in Aso Rock, and irrespective of the epileptic power supply, Aso Rock will always have light.
“Why we are not enjoying is because we refuse to do our duty. If you say the wicked are ruling, why not pray that God should touch their hearts? We need to pray that God should lead our leaders right,” he said.
Adeboye prayed that all the enemies of Nigeria would be defeated so that the people could have peace from the controller of storms.
Adeboye’s statement came after President Muhammadu Buhari’s claim during his Independence Day broadcast on Saturday that his administration had made tremendous progress in the fight against insurgency, and banditry even as he assured that his administration would not relent in combating insecurity until he hands over to the next president.
At the same event, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu called on Nigerians to continuously work and pray for peace in the nation.
The governor while addressing the congregation urged Nigerians, including Lagosians to continue to pray for leaders in Nigeria and for peace to reign in the land.
He said: “This service taking place a Sunday after the Independence Day anniversary is very important. And I think our GO, Adeboye has said it all. We need perfect peace in our country, but for us to have that perfect peace, we also need to have peace from individuals. It is we the citizens that make the country. It is not just about a metaphorical country; it is the people on the ground that truly make a country.”
Sanwo-Olu assured the people of Lagos State that his administration would continue to do its best in delivering dividends of democracy and infrastructural development to ensure that Lagos State remains home to all.
The volume of motorcycles imported into the country in the first half of 2022 has dropped significantly by a difference of N92 billion, a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown.
Analysis of quarterly reports of ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics,’ released by NBS, indicated that importation of motorcycles in 2022 did not reach the average of N150bn of the previous two halves of 2021.
The report indicates that the trade, which flourished in the first half of 2021 was valued at 213.3bn (N118.5bn and N94.7bn in Q1 and Q2 of 2021 respectively.
This was followed by N177.59bn of the commodity imported in the second half of 2021 (N116.3bn and N61.2bn, in Q3 and Q4 of 2021 respectively).
But it dropped significantly to N120.1bn in the first half of 2022 (N72.3bn and N47.7bn, in Q1 and Q2 respectively).
The downward trend could be connected to the ban of motorcycles for commercial purposes, also known as okada, by state governments as well as a proposal by the federal government to stop its use in the country.
Government have justified the ban over increased use by criminals and terrorists to perpetrate crimes.
Lagos State government had in July crushed 2, 230 impounded motorcycles.
Similarly, other states like Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, and FCT among others have effected a similar ban.
On its part, the federal government said its decision proposing the ban was due to terrorists using it as a form of logistics for movement and collection of ransom.
The government through the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami said: “The government would look into the possibility with particular regard to restriction on use and distribution of motorcycles, which is the most conventional logistical means being deployed by terrorists.”
Reacting to the government’s proposition, Chairman, Commercial Motorcyclists, in Jikwoyi, FCT, Abubakar Mahmud said: “Truly, if the government goes on to ban commercial motorcycles, there will be nothing to sustain millions of commercial motorcycle riders in the country as this is our only means of livelihood and survival".
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has bursted a mansion in the Lekki area of Lagos State where Tramadol was stored.
NDLEA Spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a terse statement on Monday, said the mansion belonged to a drug baron who is now in custody.
He said the agency recovered 13 million pills of Tramadol 225mg from the mansion.
“Another VGC drug burst! As massive and beautiful as this mansion located in highbrow VGC Lekki Lagos looks, it’s not occupied by humans but used to warehouse over 13 million pills of Tramadol 225mg by another billionaire drug baron now in custody of @ndlea_nigeria. Details coming in a statement shortly,” he said.
This comes days after the agency busted a warehouse in the Ikorodu area of the state where cocaine was stored.
More details soon…
In an apparent response to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, the presidency has stated that no state’s security forces have been permitted to use automatic rifles such as AK-47s.
In a statement sent to journalists Tuesday evening, Garba Shehu, spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari, said the president “has repeatedly made it clear that nobody is allowed to illegally carry AK-47 or any other automatic weapons and that they must surrender them.”
It would be recalled that Akeredolu had questioned why a security outfit established by Katsina State was allowed to carry AK-47s but security outfits established by states in southern Nigeria, such as Ondo, were not.
In his response, Shehu said: “In the specific Katsina State often cited, the Governor, Aminu Bello Masari wrote to explain that the administration invited the Provost of the Civil Defence Training College in Katsina to train their Vigilantes for a five-day period “in the handling and operations of Pump Action Rifles,” emphasizing that “the Vigilantes were not trained to take over the responsibilities of the security agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria but to assist them.”
However, Shehu did not say why the Katsina security outfit members were being trained to use such weapons if they would not be allowed to carry them.
Read Shehu’s full statement below:
The Presidency wishes to strongly assert that there is no state, not Katsina, not any other state in the federation, has been authorized to procure automatic weapons for their security outfits.
Under this administration, the President has repeatedly made it clear that nobody is allowed to illegally carry AK-47 or any other automatic weapons and that they must surrender them.
Where they fail to do so, the law enforcement agencies have been given clear directives to deal with any such outlaws.
Under the existing regulations, only the Office of the National Security Adviser can issue such authorization, upon proper clearance by the President and Commander-in-Chief and as it is at this moment, no such approvals have been issued to any state government.
In the specific Katsina State often cited, the Governor, Aminu Bello Masari wrote to explain that the administration invited the Provost of the Civil Defence Training College in Katsina to train their Vigilantes for a five-day period “in the handling and operations of Pump Action Rifles,” emphasizing that “the Vigilantes were not trained to take over the responsibilities of the security agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria but to assist them.”
The Presidency appreciates the active involvement of states with security matters.
As they continue to expand their capabilities as well as their active collaboration with law enforcement agencies of the federation, the joint efforts continue to yield good results, thwarting attempts of terrorists to wreak havoc and destruction on communities.
The President in particular has expressed happiness that in the last couple of years, security outfits mandated by state governments have been associated with several important initiatives, and reports have reached him of acts of utmost bravery and professionalism.
He thanks them for their alertness that is helping to defeat nefarious plots against targets at grassroots levels.
He, however, cautions against the politicization of security.
Government at the centre with a national mandate cannot afford to alienate Ondo State or any other state for that matter on the important issue of security and urges leaders at various levels to exercise restraint in their speech, even as we are in a political season.
Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
Lagos State government has taken delivery of new trains from Milwaukee, United States, for its red line rail project.
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, made this known in a statement on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
Omotoso noted the delivery of the new trains was ahead of the rail system, scheduled to begin operation in the first quarter of 2023.
Omotoso wrote, “Another major milestone in the drive by Lagos state to deliver the operation of the red line rail system by first quarter 2023.
“The Talgo series 8 Trains acquired for the red line have landed in Lagos. The 2 No. ten and eleven car trains bought from Milwaukee are here.
“It was necessary to decouple the train to 21 individual cars for effective transportation to Lagos.
“The train will be recoupled with the help of rolling stock engineers from Talgo, the company that manufactured the trains.
“The engineers will also train local engineers whilst they are here in order to equip our young people in the requisite skills.
“Once the recoupling is complete, the testing and commissioning will commence followed by full passenger operations first quarter 2023.
“Each train has the capacity to carry 1500 passengers and is expected to run on the red line rail from Agbada to Oyingbo, with the journey taking less than 30 minutes.”
Announcing the arrival of the trains, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, tweeted, “On 15th April, 2021, when I performed the ground breaking ceremony of our Red Line Metro Project, I announced that we would hit major milestones quickly.
“I am excited to announce that the twin talgo intra city ten coach Metropolitan trains for the project have arrived in Lagos!”
Fagbohun Lauretta, OGUN
Members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in Ogun State at the early hours of Tuesday protested the non-payment of their 12 years’ gratuities estimated at N68bn by the government.
The pensioners described the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration as the “enemy of pensioners” over the failure to fulfil its promises of prompt payment of their gratuities and other entitlements.
Displaying placards with various inscriptions, the protesters marched from the secretariat in the Leme area of Abeokuta, the state capital to the governor’s office in Oke-Mosan, chanting anti-government songs to register their grievances.
Some of the inscriptions on their placards read: “Governor Dapo Abiodun, you should know that pensioners are not slaves, hence they deserve better treatment from the government”; Mr Governor why did you disobey your father’s instructions to cater for pensioners?”; “Governor Dapo Abiodun stop paying lip service to the rights of the senior citizens in the state”; “Mr Governor address unpaid arrears of 12 years gratuities now”! and “Mr Governor has been nonchalant to the plights of Ogun pensioners”.
Speaking with newsmen, the chairman of NUP, Waheed Oloyede accused the governor of deliberately punishing pensioners by denying them of their entitlements.
He lamented the non-implementation of a 33.4 per cent increment in their pension, saying Abiodun has impoverished pensioners by withholding their gratuities.
He said the meagre N5,000 minimum pension being paid to some of their members “is grossly inadequate to meet with the present economic demands”.
Oloyede also lamented what he called the “acute lateness” in the payment of their monthly pensions, saying this has caused “untold financial hardship to the senior citizens who spend a huge amount of money on various old age ailments.
Addressing the protesters, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tokunbo Talabi assured the pensioners of a quick response to their demands.
He said government is trying its best to make sure that all their demands are urgently attended to adding that he will fast track their meeting with the state Governor in due time.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Local Government Pensioners Association of Nigeria (LOGPAN), Chief Sikirulah Ayilara died at the early morning of Tuesday at his house at age 82 as confirmed.
The Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP in Abeokuta South Local Government has challenged Mr Mikky Kazeem to stop misleading the public by laying claims to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDG Projects of the Federal Government, but come out openly to show his personal projects in the Federal Constituency.
The Vice Chairman of the Party in the LG, Mr Kamal Shodipo who was reacting to the claim of Micky Kazeem as the facilitator of the SDG projects in Abeokuta South Federal Constituency said it was not only a lie and absolute falsehood but a fraudulent act to be projecting such projects as a personal efforts of his, even when he is in no position to do so.
He explained that, "the SDG projects are budgeted and paid for by the federal government of Nigeria, while only a sitting member of the National Assembly can nominate or facilitate such projects".
According to Shodipo, "Micky is not a sitting member, how can he lay claims to nominating such projects? He could not have facilitated any project because presently he is just like every other Nigerian. It is fraudulent for him to lay claim to such".
"The public should be wary of these kind of politicians who try to deceive them. if they can openly lie to the public this way, then such people can not be trusted. This is a style of politicians who lie to curry favour from the public when elections are coming. The projects are SDG programmes, budgeted and paid for by the federal government, Shodipo said"
"I am not the type who go about discrediting people on frivolity, but i can not close my eyes to such deceits,when we are working to see a changed political system manned by credible people, thus the need to set the records straight. In what capacity would he say he is facilitating the project? ".
Mr Shodipo said, " I am assuring you that our political Party will always say the truth when our candidates facilitate government projects or personal projects. Projects done by tax payers money are the people's entitlement".
According to Shodipo, Micky Kazzim in a bid to deceive the public had on Wednesday commissioned and inscribed his name as the facilitator of various SDG projects at St Augustine Primary School Adatan; Imo Methodist School, Okeyeke, Our Lady of Lord's Primary School, Onikoko; C.A.C Primary School Lantoro Abeokuta; St James Primary School Idi Aba; and A.N.L.G Primary School, Ilugun Abeokuta.
A former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, is the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on SDG.
The Ogun state governorship candidate of the People's Redemption Party, (PRP), Prof. David Bamgbose is dead.
Prof. Bamgbose who on August 28, 2022 emerged the governorship candidate of the PRP in the state after quitting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), died at the Lantoro hospital after a brief illness, on Friday morning.
The news of his passage was disclosed by his Personal Assistant and Asst. Senior Pastor of Peace and Love Church, Mr Oduntan Olayemi.
He was said to have complained of tiredness a day earlier, and was taken to an hospital around Olomore, where he was referred to the Federal Medical Central, (FMC), Abeokuta.
He was then admitted at Lantoro where he was given oxygen till today (Friday).
"He complained of tiredness yesterday and we decided to take him to an hospital around Olomore. We were referred to FMC for further checks
"We opted for the state hospital, Lantoro because of the urgency and he was admitted at the emergency ward where he received oxygen till today (Friday).
"I got back to the hospital this morning and I met him breathing too fast and heavy. I was at where I went to get him some prescribed medication when he passed on", Olayemi narrated.
The Professor of Education management and Administration who contested in 2015 as the Governorship candidate of APGA was until his death the Provost, Yewa Central College of Education, Abeokuta.
Aged 54, Prof. Bamgbose is survived by his wife, Mary Bamgbose and six children.
Officers of Owo Community local Vigilante Group in Ondo State have declared a lady identified as "Jane Abdulazeez" wanted for engaging in bisexual activities.
The statement which was released by the Public Relations Officer, PRO of the security outfit, Mojeed Ajetunmobi said both male and female expressions of homosexuality are illegal in Nigeria and punishable by up to 16 years of prison in the conventional court system.
According to the statement, "there is no legal protection for LGBT rights in Nigeria. It is an abomination to the culture and values of the quiet and descent people of our Community".
The PRO in the statement said, "one Jane Abdulazeez, female, Muslim, a single lady adult, was caught in the abominable sexual act in an uncompleted building, but escaped while her partner (names withheld) was arrested through the assistance of her husband whom had initially reported her bisexual act to the neighbourhood police station.
"Since such is not allowed by the law of the land and it is an abominable act to our community, the Vigilante group is hereby declaring Jane Abdulazeez wanted."
"Her picture is already attached and in circulation. Anyone, who sees her or have any vital information about her should report to any of our Vigilante command or the nearest police station", the statement reads.
Nigeria spent at least N155bn within the last two years on the importation of salt and other locally available products from Asia and South America even as domestic industries struggle with high production costs.
This is as the country allocated about N198bn within the same period for the development of natural resources, including salt.
According to Foreign Trade Statistics report by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria spent the N155bn to import salt, palm oil and coals.
Another report by the Federation Account Allocation Committee said the country earmarked N198bn for the purpose of developing natural resources in the country.
Checks on the different quarters of Foreign Trade Statistics of the NBS showed that Nigeria imported palm oil majorly from from China and Indonesia while crude salt was imported from Brazil.
Salt is one of the most common mineral resources in Nigeria. Salt is found in larger deposits in Ebonyi State whose slogan is “the salt of the nation.” Other places of deposits include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Anambra, Imo, Katsina, and Sokoto State.
There are fewer than five salt makers in Nigeria as the existing ones are squeezed by high production costs, foreign exchange scarcity and energy crisis.
Salt development in Ebonyi has been abandoned despite previous funds from the Japanese government.
Amid the huge salt deposits and the billions committed to developing natural resources in the country, Nigeria spends billions of naira on the importation of salt in the country.
Also, according to findings by our correspondents, over N100bn was spent on importation of palm oil from Asia within the past two years.
In the past decades, before the discovery of crude oil, Nigeria’s palm oil sector generated about 43 per cent of the world’s total production. Nigeria was considered as the biggest player in the global palm oil market. The production of palm oil went beyond domestic consumption, with the excess produce contributing to foreign earnings via exports.
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Nigeria now has about 20 million out-of-school children, according to the latest global data on out-of-school children by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
UNESCO, which says a new and improved methodology was used to arrive at the latest figures, said there are “244 million children and youth between the ages of 6 and 18 worldwide (who) are still out of school.”
According to the statistics, India, Nigeria and Pakistan have the highest figures for out-of-school children globally.
The figures in Nigeria have oscillated between 10.5 million and around 15 million for more than a decade, with the situation growing worse due to the degenerating security situation in the country.
UNESCO announced the figures in a statement issued on Thursday by Dafalia Dimitra, a media specialist, with the Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM), which is developed by an independent team and published by UNESCO.
The global organisation said the team developing the report “has the official mandate of monitoring progress in meeting the Sustainable Development Goal on education, SDG 4.”
The statement read in part: “The new estimates, published online by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, show that sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the most children and youth out of school with 98 million children and young people excluded from education. It is also the only region where this number is increasing; out-of-school rates are falling more slowly than the rate at which the school-age population is growing.
“The region with the second highest out-of-school population is Central and Southern Asia with 85 million. The top three countries with the most children and youth excluded from education are India, Nigeria and Pakistan.”
According to the Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Silvia Montoya, efficient use of the available data is important to address the gaps towards achieving the fourth goal of the SDGs.
“UNESCO has long underscored the need to make more efficient use of the data we have. That’s why we’ve brought together administrative data with information from surveys and censuses. By using multiple data sources, gaps are filled, data trends are smoothed, and we can draw consistent time series,” the official said.
New methodology
According to UNESCO, the new methodology combines multiple data sources, and it has been used in the past to estimate flagship health indicators, such as maternal and infant mortality rates.
It said this is the first time it has been used in education, “marking a significant improvement to the robustness of the estimates.”
Speaking on this, UNESCO’s Assistant-Director General for Education, Stefania Giannini, said; “Global out-of-school numbers are lower than we thought, but far too many children are still missing out. Countries have committed to benchmarks to slash out-of-school numbers by over half by 2030. We must identify solutions during the Transforming Education Summit called by the United Nations Secretary-General this September so that countries can deliver on these pledges. All children should have access to quality education.”
UNESCO said important data gaps have been filled in countries with large out-of-school numbers “but where no administrative data of good quality has been available for over a decade.” It listed the countries in this category to include Nigeria “which has an estimated 20 million children and youth out of school, Ethiopia (10.5 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (5.9 million) and Kenya (1.8 million).”
“With UNESCO’s help, 90% of countries have now set national SDG 4 benchmarks for 2025 and 2030, including on out-of-school rates. We must step up our support for those who are being deprived of their opportunities, keeping a watchful eye on those who have struggled on their return after Covid-related school closures,” said Manos Antoninis, Director of the Global Education Monitoring Report.
The statement further noted that the estimation process incorporates the latest country data in 2021 to be released by the UIS on September 13. “A preliminary assessment suggests that while primary and lower secondary education enrolment has not been affected, there might be some impact on upper secondary enrolment. More information is needed in the coming year to assess the impact.”
Gender gap
The global body said the new estimates confirm that the difference in the rate of girls and boys out of school has been considerably reduced.
“Globally, the gaps of 2.5 percentage points among primary school age children and of 3.9 percentage points among upper secondary school age youth in 2000 have been reduced to zero,” UNESCO noted.
The United Kingdom (UK) has mandated foreigners or overseas entities that own land or property to declare beneficial owners and/or managing officers.
The law entitled ‘Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022’ established the new ‘Register of Overseas Entities’, held by the UK’s Companies House.
The law, which took effect on August 1, 2022, also made provisions for “severe sanctions” for those who do not comply, including restrictions on buying, selling, transferring, leasing or charging their land or property in the UK.
Under the new law, overseas entities who want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK must register with the Companies House and declare who their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers are.
The law also required overseas entities who already own or lease land or property in the UK to register with Companies House and disclose registrable beneficial owners or managing officers by January 31, 2023.
“This applies to overseas entities who bought property or land on or after: 1 January 1999 in England and Wales, 8 December 2014 in Scotland,” the UK government said.
“Overseas entities only need to register property or land bought in Northern Ireland on or after 1 August 2022.”
It added that entities that disposed of property or land after February 28, 2022, would need to give details of those dispositions.
The development comes almost a year after the Pandora Papers exposed how world leaders , politicians and billionaires use shell companies to move wealth offshore, anonymously buy real estate or luxury goods, and avoid paying huge sums of tax revenue.
The Pandora Papers project is led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which Premium Times is a part of.
Findings by the project revealed that Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra; Gboyega Oyetola, Osun governor and Stella Oduah, a serving senator, are among those who have allegedly benefitted illegally from offshore service firms.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said Nigeria is gradually moving towards dictatorship.
The former president stated this at the 70th birthday celebration of Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, held at Sheraton Hotel in Abuja.
Speaking on the theme of the event, ‘Nigeria’s Unfinished Greatness: Next Steps’, Jonathan urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and united to choose leaders that will lead the nation to the promised land.
He said, “The task before all of us is not to lower our guard, lest the democracy we cherish today, succumbs to threats and recedes into fascism tomorrow and there are signs already.
“Looking at the states and so on, we are derailing towards quasi fascist form of government but democracy is not only about winning elections alone, it is about accommodation.
“We as leaders at the centre and at the state level, especially at this time when elections are coming must accommodate different views.”
Jonathan urged the youths that have registered for the 2023 elections to endeavour to walk their talk by making sure they vote on election day.
Dignitaries at the occasion were Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu; his running mate, Kashim Shettima; Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi; Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong and Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
Others were Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, former governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha; and former governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson.
Chairman, Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Ango Abdullahi has described 2023 Muslim-Muslim ticket for the presidential election as crudest and most unproductive.
Though, Abdullahi who is a former Vice Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria was short of mentioning the political party behind the Muslim-Muslim ticket, said it is designed to separate Christians from Muslims, Hausa from Fulani in Northern region.
The NEF Chairman who spoke at a book launch yesterday in Kaduna, added that North will participate in all electoral activities and respect Nigerians who respect the region.
“We will participate in all political and electoral activities as equals, and concerning other Nigerians who respect us. In the North, we consider attempts to create divisions and conflicts around religion as hostile acts.
“We have paid a high price in conflicts around religion in the North, and we do not need to do more. Our insecurity and collapsing economy do not discriminate between Christians and Muslims.
“We cannot seek solutions from them as Muslims or Christians. I have to state here that we are witnessing some of the crudest and most unproductive campaigns to create divisions between Hausa and Fulani people, and create distances between Christians and Muslims in the North.
“We warn that these contemptible attempts will fail because they find no support in history going back centuries, or in the recent past. While we differ in faith and ethnicity, history, geography and our experiences in living as Nigerians have created roots and bonds that cannot be destroyed by desperate political gambits.
“The North will participate in all political and electoral activities as equals and with respect to other Nigerians who respect us.The North want leaders who will lead with integrity, competence, compassion and the fear of God.