News
Sudan Army close to taking control of Presidential Palace
Sudan Army said it is close to taking control of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
State TV reported on Thursday, in a significant milestone in a two-year- old conflict that threatens to fracture the country.
The RSF quickly took the palace and most of the capital at the outbreak of war in April 2023, but the Sudanese Armed Forces has in recent months staged a comeback and inched towards the palace along the River Nile.
The RSF, which earlier this year began establishing a parallel government, maintains control of parts of Khartoum and neighbouring Omdurman, as well as western Sudan, where it is fighting to take control of the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, al-Fashir.
The taking of the capital could hasten the army’s full takeover of central Sudan, and harden the east-west territorial division of the country between the two forces.
Both sides have vowed to continue fighting for the remainder of the country, and no efforts at peace talks had materialised.
The war erupted amid a power struggle between Sudan’s army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
The conflict has led to what the U.N. calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, causing famine in several locations and disease across the country.
I t said that both sides have been accused of war crimes, while the RSF has also been charged with genocide. Both forces deny the charges.
The fight for the Presidential Palace has raged over the past several weeks, with the RSF fighting fiercely to maintain control, including via snipers placed around surrounding downtown buildings.
However, its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, instructed troops earlier this week not to give up the palace.
Late on Wednesday into Thursday morning, explosions could be heard from airstrikes and drone attacks by the army targeting central Khartoum, witnesses and military sources told Reuters.
The army has long maintained the advantage of air power over the RSF, though the paramilitary group has shown evidence of increased drone capabilities recently.
On the Telegram messenger app, the RSF said its forces were making advances towards the Army General Command, also in central Khartoum, and eyewitnesses said the force was attacking from southern Khartoum.
The army’s advance in central Sudan since late last year has been welcomed by many people, who had been displaced by the RSF, which has been accused of widespread looting and arbitrary killings, and of occupying homes and neighbourhoods.
The RSF denies the charges and says individual perpetrators will be brought to justice.
Hundreds of thousands of people have returned to their homes in Central Sudan, though late on Wednesday activists in Omdurman warned that some soldiers have engaged in robbery.
The military has routinely denied such allegations.(dpa/NAN)
By Tambaya Julius, Abuja
According to media reports, Adewole Adebayo, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has reiterated that political parties serve as public institutions where membership is open to all, much like places of worship such as churches and mosques.
His remarks come in response to the recent political shift involving former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, who left the All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the SDP. Adebayo clarified that while political parties welcome new members, joining a party does not automatically entitle anyone to leadership role.
In a Thursday interview, Adebayo underscored that simply affiliating with a political party does not grant individuals instant leadership positions. He drew a comparison with religious congregations, where people are free to worship but do not automatically assume leadership roles. This analogy, he argued, applies equally to political settings, where commitment, contribution, and discipline determine leadership opportunities.
Adebayo also cautioned against internal conflicts and unnecessary distractions within the party, warning that such divisions could be exploited by political opponents. He emphasised that opposition parties aiming to challenge incumbents must uphold a higher standard of discipline and unity.
Encouraging party members to prioritise collective goals over personal interests, he advised against engaging in disputes that divert focus from governance. He further stated that internal strife weakens the party’s credibility, making it easier for the ruling party to maintain dominance.
The SDP candidate urged members to refrain from using the party as a platform for settling personal scores, referencing disputes with political figures such as Bola Tinubu. While individual members may have disagreements with prominent politicians, Adebayo stressed that the party itself should remain focused on governance rather than personal rivalries.
He highlighted the importance of maintaining a clear vision, free from ego and distractions, stating, “When you join a political party, leave your ego, ambitions, and personal grievances at the door.” His call for unity reinforces the idea that an effective opposition must focus on policies and national issues rather than internal disputes.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has announced that all full-time Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates will now be mobilised for the National Youth Service (NYSC).
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Folasade Boriowo.
Boriowo quoted Alausa as saying that after discussions with the Director-General of NYSC, only full-time HND graduates were eligible and could thereafter proceed with their mobilisation.
This development, he said, marked a major breakthrough for full-time HND graduates who were previously excluded from the NYSC programme.
According to him, it underscores the Federal Ministry of Education’s commitment to equity, fairness, and inclusivity in the nation’s education system.
“However, those who did HND part-time are not eligible for mobilisation at all.
“To facilitate a seamless mobilisation process, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has been directed to expedite the collation of data for eligible HND graduates.
“In line with this, a circular has been sent to all Rectors of Polytechnics, instructing them to upload the necessary graduate data onto the newly created HND admission portal,” he said.
Alausa emphasised that NYSC mobilisation was strictly for those who completed a full-time HND programme.
He stressed that only full-time HND graduates would be mobilised, while those who did HND part-time remained ineligible.
He further disclosed that the newly created portal would ensure proper documentation of full-time HND graduates.
He added that this would also serve as the official database for NYSC mobilisation, addressing past challenges related to admission records.
The minister urged all eligible full-time HND graduates to take full advantage of this opportunity and proceed with their mobilisation without delay.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fostering equal opportunities for all qualified Nigerian graduates and ensuring their contributions to national development through the NYSC scheme. (NAN)
The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) on Thursday advocated true autonomy for Local Governments(LGs), saying it will help in managing and solving security challenges facing the country.
Former ALGON President and member of Board of Trustees (BOT), Hon. Ibrahim Dasuki, said this at a news conference, organised shortly after an emergency meeting of the Executive Council, Board of Trustees (BOT) and past Presidents of ALGON in Abuja.
Dasuki said the local governments and traditional institutions have a key role to play in security matters as the security challenges were mostly happened at local government levels.
“If you look at the security challenges we are facing in Nigeria, virtually in every zone are local in nature, it does not happen in the city, be it insurgency, banditry and others are mostly happened at local government levels.
“Why is it so, it is because of the failure of the local government system. If you could look back to the history, our local governments played key roles in ensuring peace and security especially the responsibilities given to traditional institutions.
“Over times, there were reforms, especially in 1976. In the north, we had a native authority, and Emir was a leader then. Whoever comes to town and city, he must be registered, he must be known.”
Dasuki recalled that due to the reforms, the government split the native authority with the emirate system.
He said this created a vacuum in terms of checkmating who goes in and out, resulting to missing link in the operation of local governments.
According to him, unless and until we go back and look at the older system, the security challenges bedeviling the country will be found difficult to address.
“You can deploy number of security personnel, and use whatever weapons, but so long as you don’t have structure, you can have some achievements in the short term but it cannot be sustained, you will see reemergence again.
“I will like to call on the government to look at the local government’s role in security matters.
“It is imperative because despite the fact that there is security committee comprising all the security agencies, we have to incorporate traditional institutions to the system so that they play a key role in solving security challenges.”
He also commended the Supreme Court judgment on LGs financial autonomy currently implemented by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“We have happy that things have started to change with the Supreme Court judgment because the Supreme court has not left any stone unturned regarding the proper administration of local government.
“It (judgment) talks about the financial autonomy, administrative autonomy and political autonomy. The financial autonomy had been granted long time ago through signing of Executive Order by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“President Bola Tinubu is currently implementing the Supreme Court judgment on the financial autonomy, and also administrative autonomy.
“The political aspect is also being done by the National Assembly as the NASS lawmakers were directed to look at those key areas so that true autonomy of local government can be achieved.
“So, if that can be done and achieved over a period of time, I believe that some of the security challenges we are seeing can be managed and probably resolved in due time,” he said
Also speaking, Hon. Odunayo Ategbero, BOT Chairman of ALGON, commended the Implementation Committee on LGs Financial Autonomy for making a laudable progress in spite of its challenges.
Ategbero said, “Our focus of discussion remains the Supreme Court judgment of July 11, 2024 which granted the financial autonomy to the local governments in Nigeria.
“We are aware that the Federal Government has set up an implementation committee under the chairmanship of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
According to him, this implementation committee has commenced its implemention. So, we want to report that so far so good we are impressed in the way they are handling the implementation.
“In spite of bottlenecks, I want to believe that they are making progress. There are pressure on this committee not to implement the Supreme Court judgment based on sentiment and personal issue but the committee is patriotic by resisting these pressure that are mounting.
“Steady progress is being made because they have actually instructed the local governments across the country to go and open account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) so that there will be seamless implementation of getting allocation directly.
“So, we need to commend them because if they have yielded to pressure, there would not have been made such a progress.
“They asked local governments to go and open accounts at the CBN. And it is only when the accounts open at CBN, the money can transfer to that accounts for local governments to do grassroots projects.” (NAN)