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Northern Youths Oppose Protests, Call for Reversal of Fuel Subsidy

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8 months ago

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By Israel Bulus, Kaduna

In a recent development, a group known as ‘Northern Youths for Peace and Good Governance’ (NYIPGG) has expressed their dissent towards the national agitation for protests. Instead, they are urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider the removal of fuel subsidy, which has led to an economic downturn in the country.

During a Youth Dialogue town hall meeting titled “Empowering Northern Youths: Dialogue for Peace, Progress, and Prosperity” held at Arewa House in Kaduna, Abdulrahaman Bala, a keynote speaker, emphasized that reversing the fuel subsidy removal would help quell the agitation for a national protest, given the ongoing economic hardship.

Bala pointed out that the Federal Government’s palliative measures have not been realistic or effective in alleviating the economic challenges faced by the citizens. However, he made it clear that they do not support the protest at this time, citing concerns about the timing and the potential for the protest to be exploited by unruly elements, resulting in harm to innocent citizens.

“We call on our president to immediately implement policies such as massive employment opportunities and support for small-scale businesses, which will contribute to the improvement of our economy,” he added.

The national president of the forum, Comrd. Umar Lawal, appealed to the Northern youth to give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu some time to work on the policies he has already initiated, aimed at alleviating their suffering. He cautioned against staging a protest, considering the current state of the country, and warned of the potential for opportunistic individuals to exploit the situation for their own destructive agendas.

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“The organizers of the protest are faceless Nigerians, and the youth must be cautious not to become unwitting tools in the hands of those who do not have the best interests of Nigerians at heart,” he emphasized.

Speaking on the topic of Business Growth and Entrepreneurship in the North, Comrd. Suleiman Yusuf urged the youth of Northern Nigeria to shift their focus from protests and instead explore ways to build themselves and contribute positively to the country. He encouraged the youth to prioritize education and seek out opportunities for personal and professional development.

Yusuf also highlighted the importance of leveraging technology, particularly mobile phones, as a means of generating income. He emphasized that the world has become a global village, offering numerous opportunities for youth advancement.

The Chairman of the organizing committee, Comrd. Zakari Hashim, explained that the Youth town hall dialogue meeting aimed to address pressing challenges such as insecurity, agriculture, opportunities, business growth, and poverty alleviation. He expressed satisfaction with the recommendations generated during the meeting, believing that they will have a significant impact on the development and future of the region.

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National

JUST IN: Supreme Court sets aside judgment recognising Abure as LP’s National Chairman

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51 minutes ago

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April 4, 2025

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The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).

In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the LP having earlier found that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.

It held that issue of leadership was internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.

The court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Ester Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.

It proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP got being unmeritorious.

Details shortly…

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National

Hakeem Baba-Ahmed resigns as presidential political adviser

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2 hours ago

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April 4, 2025

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Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, special adviser on political matters to Vice-President Kashim Shettima, has resigned from his position, According to Daily Trust.

The newspaper quoted sources as saying that the former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) resigned two weeks ago.

President Bola Tinubu appointed Baba-Ahmed as special adviser on political matters to Shettima in September 2023.

Baba-Ahmed is the elder sibling of Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election.

Baba-Ahmed served as chief of staff to Bukola Saraki, former senate president, from 2017-2019.

CONFRONTATION WITH MATAWALLE OVER NEF

In April 2024, Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence, described the NEF as a “political paperweight” after the group stated that the north made a mistake voting Tinubu in 2023.

In his reaction to Matawalle’s remarks, Baba-Ahmed said it would have served the Tinubu administration better if Matawalle had listed his achievements as minister — and the achievements of the other northern appointees — instead of attacking NEF.

“Scathing criticism of NEF by a junior minister of defence, Matawalle, is ill-advised. He could have done a better job for this admin if he identified contributions of especially northern ministers and other appointees like me to improving security and reducing poverty in the North,” Baba-Ahmed said.

In a riposte, the minister said any appointee must defend and promote the administration they work for.

“Dr. Baba-Ahmed’s relationship and affinity with Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) is well-known,” Matawalle said.

“The fact now is that he is an appointee of the administration as Special Adviser and it is incumbent on him to work for the success of the government he is part of, protect and defend the government against unjust and vicious attacks from those who hide under ethnic and other primordial interests to heat up the polity for myopic reasons.

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“It is pertinent to state that every appointee of President Tinubu including Dr. Baba-Ahmed owes the government a copious duty to promote, elucidate and advance the good works and commendable efforts of the government across all sectors.”

He added that northern appointees must defend the government or take their exit.

Matawalle is a native of Zamfara while Baba-Ahmed hails from Kaduna.

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National

INEC: We are not partisan in failed recall of Natasha

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3 hours ago

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April 4, 2025

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has denied being partisan in handling the failed recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Rotimi Oyekanmi, who was on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, explained how the Commission handled the process.

“In the case of the Kogi Central District, we received a petition and a cover letter and of course what Nigerians were saying was that we were taking sides,” Oyekanmi said on the programme.

INEC logo and Senator Natasha Akpoti (Kogi-Central PDP)
INEC logo and Senator Natasha Akpoti (Kogi-Central PDP)

“But what happened was that in the covering letter, the representatives of the petitioners did not include their address as required in our regulations and guidelines and what we just did was to ask them to supply their address, it has nothing to do with the petition.

“And of course, there is nowhere in the law where INEC is asked to reject a petition just because the cover letter did not contain the address. So, there was no hanky-panky in what we did.”

Earlier on Thursday, INEC rejected the petition to recall Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, saying that it has not met the requirements.

The electoral commission said the petition to recall Senator Natasha did not meet constitutional requirements.

Senator Natasha was suspended for breaching Senate rules, prompting some of her constituents to initiate her recall. They claimed the move was to ensure their constituency did not lack representation following the suspension of the 45-year-old senator.

Asked whether there could be a repeat of the recall process, the INEC spokesperson said the law did not specify if the process could be repeated and how many times.

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“The law just talks about the threshold, the threshold meaning that if you want to recall, you must have, in addition to your petition, 50 per cent plus one signatures. The law did not specify how many times you can undertake that,” he said.

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