Tag: State of Emergency

Senate urges FG to declare “State of Emergency” on drug abuse

The Senate has urged the Federal Government to declare a State of Emergency on illicit drugs and drug abuse in the country.

This followed adoption of a motion on “Urgent need to address the menace of drug abuse in Nigeria” at plenary on Tuesday by Sen. Babangida Hussain (APC -Jigawa).

Presenting the motion, Babangida said that Nigeria was faced with rising cases of drug abuse which had reached an unprecedented level.

He said Nigeria had transformed from a mere transit country in the 1990s, Into a country filled with drug addiction and drug traffickers all over its land space.

“A population of between 30 million and 35 million spends approximately 15,000 and 30,000 dollars annually on psychotropic drugs and alcoholic beverages in Nigeria, ” he said.

He said the statistics by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the European Union on drug use in Nigeria, stated that about 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages 15 and 64, were drug users.

“The report stated that 10.6 million addicts were cannabis users, 4.6 addicts used pharmaceutical opioids and 238,0000 abusers used amphetamines,” he said.

He said the prevalence of drug abuse per geo political zone in 2017 showed that the North-West accounted for 12 per cent, North-East 13.6 per cent North- Central 10.0 per cent, South-West 22.4 per cent South-South 16.6 per cent and the South-East 13.8 per cent.

Babaginda said the main drugs abused in Nigeria were mood altering or psycho active drugs, performance-enhancing drugs, dependency drugs and prescription drugs.

He said the side effects included addiction, trauma, mental illness and often times resultes in ill health, violence and involvement in criminal activities.

He said that a significant number of deaths from accidents and violent crimes had been traced to the activities of persons under the influence of drugs.

He expressed worry that the war against drug abuse beibg carried out by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency was not yielding the required result.

Babaginda said there was need to include special drug education in the schools curriculum.

He also expressed concern that the prevalence of drug abuse in Nigeria was a public health challenge that seemed to be on the increase in spite of intervention by international, regional, federal and state bodies through laws and policies.

Contributing, Sen.Mohammed Monguno (APC-Borno) said drug abuse was affecting the productivity of youths as it had negative economic effects, while also distorting cultural values.

October 18, 2023
Reps urge FG to declare state of emergency in health sector

The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector and allocate significant votes to it in the 2024 budget estimates.

This followed a motion by Rep. Fayinka Oluwatoyin (APC-Lagos) during plenary in Abuja.

The motion was titled, “Need for the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA) to collaborate with relevant health agencies in states and Local Governments to ensure the functionality of Primary Healthcare Centres.”

Oluwatoyin, member representing Mushin Federal Constituency II of Lagos State, noted that Nigeria, being the largest population in Africa, is faced with alarmingly high rates of dilapidated health facilities.

He said it was estimated that Nigeria has about 39,983 hospitals and clinics as of 2020, with the primary healthcare centres accounting for about 34,000 which is 86 per cent.

He, however, said that only 20 per cent of these primary healthcare centres are functional, particularly in rural areas lacking adequate facilities and staffing.

He said the lack of medical equipment, drugs, qualified personnel, electrical systems, beds, and road networks had increased the death toll in healthcare centers.

This, according to him, necessitated revitalisation with a budget of US$80 million for additional bed spaces.

He said the Federal and State Health Ministries’ inaccurate representation of primary healthcare centres hindered proper budgeting and access to quality healthcare in rural areas.

This, according to him, often leads to premature deaths.

The House, in its resolution, urged the Federal Ministry of Health to encourage States to resuscitate the comatose primary healthcare programmes at the grassroots level.

It urged the ministry to also provide qualitative and affordable medicare for
the masses.

The House further urged the Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with State ministries, LGAs and other stakeholders to establish a task force to eradicate sharp medical malpractice.

This, he said, should particularly be in the rural areas and furnish the Committee on Healthcare Services with the summary reports in evaluating the standard of the primary Healthcare Centres from 2016-2022.

October 14, 2023
BREAKING: FG declares state of emergency on food security

The Federal Government has declared all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, to be included within the purview of the National Security Council.

TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports this is as the federal government declared a state of emergency on food security in the country.

Mr Dele Alake, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy disclosed this during a media briefing on Thursday.

The text of the media briefing reads below:

Gentlemen of the press, i welcome you once again to this press conference to update the public on President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s immediate response to the current food inflation in the country.

As a hands-on- leader who follows developments across the country everyday, Mr. President is not unmindful of the rising cost of food and how it affects the citizens.

While availability is not a problem, affordability has been a major issue to many Nigerians in all parts of the country.

This has led a significant drop in demand thereby undermining the viability of the entire agriculture and food value chain.

Accordingly, in line with this administration’s position on ensuring that the most vulnerable are supported, Mr. President has declared, with immediate effect the following actions:

• That a state of emergency on food security be announced immediately, and

• That all matters pertaining to food & water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council.

As a direct and immediate response to this crisis, a number of initiatives will be deployed in the coming weeks to reverse this inflationary trend and guarantee future uninterrupted supplies of affordable foods to ordinary Nigerians.

As with most emergencies, there are immediate, medium- and long-term interventions and solutions in the immediate term, we intend to deploy some savings from the fuel subsidy removal into the Agricultural sector focusing on revamping the agricultural sector.

In an earlier meeting with Agriculture Stakeholders (today), we drafted a memorandum of partnership between the government and the individual stakeholder representatives that encompasses the decisions taken and actions proposed from our engagements.

The immediate intervention strategies are as follows:

1. We will immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.

2. There must be an urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round. As a country, Mr. President has made it clear that we can no be comfortable with seasonal farming. We can no longer afford to have farming down times.

3. We shall create and support a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items.

Through this board, government will moderate spikes and dips in food prices.

To achieve this, we have the following stakeholders on board to support the intervention effort of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu:

The National Commodity Exchange (NCX), Seed Companies, National Seed Council and Research institutes, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, Food Processing/ Agric Processing associations, private sector holders & Prime Anchors, small holder farmers, crop associations and Fertilizer producers, blenders and suppliers associations to mention a few.

4. We will engage our security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of attacks.

5. The Central Bank will continue to play a major role of funding the agricultural value chain.

6. Activation of land banks. There is currently 500,000 hectares of already mapped land that will be used to increase availability of arable land for farming which will immediately impact food output. – Mechanization and land clearing- The government will also collaborate with mechanization companies to clear more forests & make them available for farming

7. River basins- there are currently 11 rivers basins that will ensure planting of crops during the dry season with irrigation schemes that will guarantee continuous farming production all year round, to stem the seasonal glut and scarcity that we usually experience.

8. We will deploy concessionary capital/funding to the sector especially towards fertilizer, processing, mechanization, seeds, chemicals, equipment, feed, labour, etc. The concessionary funds will ensure food is always available and affordable thereby having a direct impact on Nigeria’s Human Capital Index (HCI). This administration is focused on ensuring the HCI numbers, which currently ranks as the 3rd lowest in the world, are improved for increased productivity.

9. Transportation and Storage: The cost of transporting Agricultural products has been a major challenge (due to permits, toll gates, and other associated costs). When the costs of moving farm produce is significantly impacted- it will immediately be passed to the consumers, which will affect the price of food- the government will explore other means of transportation including rail and water transport, to reduce freight costs and in turn impact the food prices. As for storage, existing warehouses and tanks will be revamped to cut waste & ensure efficient preservation of food items.

10. We will Increase revenue from food and agricultural exports. As we ensure there is sufficient, affordable food for the populace, we will concurrently work on stimulating the export capacity of the Agric sector…

11. Trade Facilitation: Transportation, storage and export will be improved by working with the Nigerian Customs, who have assured us that the bottlenecks experienced in exporting and importing food items as well as intra-city transportation through tolling will be removed.

These are some of the immediate interventions this government will put in place to tackle this crisis. Principally, one of the major positive outcomes of these interventions will be a massive boost in employment and job creation.

Indeed, agriculture already accounts for about 35.21 percent of employment in Nigeria (as at 2021), the target is to double this percentage to about 70% in the long term.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate to create jobs for our teeming youth population will be achieved with between 5 to 10 million more jobs created within the value chain, working with the current 500,000 hectares of arable land and the several hundreds of thousands more farmlands to be developed in the medium term.

In closing, this administration understands that food and water are the bedrock of survival and therefore is calling on all Nigerians to partner us in ensuring the success of this strategic intervention.

This administration is working assiduously to ensure that Nigerians do not struggle with their essential needs.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wishes to use this medium to continue to assure Nigerians that this administration will not relent in its efforts until all strategic interventions are deployed efficiently and effectively and until every household is positively impacted.

Our president is the president of all Nigerians and the father of the nation. The renewed hope mandate remains alive, and no one, absolutely no one, will be left behind. I thank you all.

July 13, 2023
State of Emergency: Rivers state reacts to calls by APC’s guber candidate, Tonye Cole

The Rivers State government has taken a swipe at the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Pastor Tonye Cole for backing the presidency for a state of emergency in Rivers State.

This was made known through a press release obtained by TheNewsGuru.com and signed and released by the Hon. Commissioner for Information & Communications, Chris Finebone today in Port Harcourt.

According to Finebone, Rivers state is among the most peaceful and well governed states in the country and needs no interference of whatever form

The Statement reads partly: ”The Rivers State Government has taken notice of the call by the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor(?) Tonye Cole, for a declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State.

”While government is concerned by such a deviant and irresponsible call on President Muhammadu Buhari, it is, however, not totally shocked that a pretender to the governorship seat of the State would engage in such an uninformed call.

”Indeed, it is understandable why Tonye Cole would make such a call. All one needs is to recall the Biblical story when the mother whose child had died quickly accepted that King Solomon should cut the surviving child into two halves knowing full well that the baby would die. It takes someone who has nothing to lose to call for the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State at this time. Indeed, it can only come from someone who does not like the State and her people.

”Again, government is not surprised that the call for a state of emergency is coming from someone standing trial as the prime suspect in a grand state capture scheme planned and executed between him and his friend who was governor of Rivers State. The result of that plot was the underhand and highly dubious transfer of state assets (Omoku Gas Turbine, Afam Gas Turbine, Trans Amadi Gas Turbine, Eleme Gas Turbine, Olympia Hotel, etc.) to a company – Sahara Energy Ltd – partly owned by Tonye Cole for about $308 million out of which only $208,000 was paid into the state coffers while the rest of the proceeds vanished into thin air to this day.

”As the campaigns unfold, the Rivers State Government has continued to exercise the highest level of restrain concerning most of the individuals who claim to be contesting the governorship election in the State – from notorious gamblers to ‘bogey-bogey’ people whose motives revolve around carting away whatever is left of the people’s common patrimony. The present Rivers State Government believes in the rule of law and prefers Tonye

”Cole and other masterminds in the grand heist of over N96 billion to face the due diligence of trial in court or regurgitate the commonwealth of Rivers people they most ignominiously cornered and transferred to themselves.

”Government believes that those who have pillaged the people’s resources and cornered same for themselves in the past should be kept away from further having a second field day – a scenario that will spell doom for the people. But that is left for the people to decide with their voters’ card on March 11, 2023.

”It is not far fetched that despite the pretences and chartered delusion by the likes of Tonye Cole hoping against hope, finally, reality is beginning to dawn on them that failure is staring them in the face, hence, the panicky call to bring down the entire house through a state of emergency. Surely, it will not work!

”It must be clearly stated that the State Government has, so far, kept off the partisan political turf allowing the political parties and politicians to do their thing. That should not be taken to mean lack of political will to protect the sacred duties of government to protect lives, property and its own existence. A call for state of emergency by any politician is a wanton and impudent attack on the existence of the State Government and cannot be ignored.

”Constantly pointing at RVSG Executive Orders 21 and 22 is needless. Politicians should search themselves to ascertain whether they are ready for the coming election both in human and material contexts and not look for cheap exit or excuses. Looking around one can attest that our beautiful pieces of infrastructure have been saved defacement by all manner of banners and posters due to those Orders. No two political parties have contested use of one place for campaign at the same time as was the case in the past. The benefits of the Orders are numerous to the law-abiding members of our State except for trouble makers and deviants.

”Pastor(?) Tonye Cole should worry a lot on how to legally discard the garland of shame adorning his neck as a prime suspect in the grand heist of the commonwealth of Rivers people. Calling for a state of emergency is not a very intelligent escape route from facing trial and/or losing the 2023 governorship polls. Both outcomes for Tonye Cole appear very obvious. Perhaps the only ones not seeing it are Tonye Cole and his motley decrepit band of blind political neophytes”

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, the presidential elections in the country will hold on February 25 while the gubernatorial elections will hold on the 11th of March, 2023.

January 27, 2023
Ukraine set to declare state of emergency

A State of Emergency is to be introduced across all parts of Ukraine under government control, the country’s National Security and Defense Council announced Wednesday.

The measure is expected to be approved by the Ukrainian Parliament within 48 hours and would last for 30 days, with the possibility of being extended for an additional 30 days.

“Across the territory of our country, apart from Donetsk and Luhansk, a State of Emergency will be introduced,” Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said Wednesday.

“The main aim of the Russian Federation is to destabilize Ukraine from inside and to achieve its objective. To prevent this from happening, we decided today and made this decision today,” he added.

Speaking during a press briefing in Kyiv, Danilov said the State of Emergency would include “strengthening public order and security at critical infrastructure facilities” and tightening inspections on certain transportation movements.

“Depending on the local circumstances, there may be stronger or milder measures to ensure the security of our country,” he added. “These are all preventative measures, in order to preserve peace and calm in the country and for the economy to continue to work.”

February 23, 2022
Airfare hike: Senate demands state of emergency on federal roads

The Senate has called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency on the nation’s federal roads.

The upper chamber also urged the Federal Government to immediately make good its indebtedness to the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA).

The Senate said this was to enable the agency carry out its primary responsibility of rehabilitating federal roads, especially in the face of the astronomical increase in airfares.

The resolutions followed a Point of Order raised by Sen. Gershom Bassey (PDP-Cross River) during Tuesday’s plenary.

Bassey raised the matter to draw the attention of the senators to the increase in airfare and the deplorable state of Nigerian roads.

Rising under Order 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Orders, Bassey lamented that local airfares in Nigeria had risen by 63 per cent in response to a spike in the price of aviation fuel and attendant cost of operation.

According to him, the rise in airfare has pegged the minimum Economy Class ticket at around N80,000 for travellers buying a one-hour, one-way economy tickets.

He expressed worry that the increase in airfares would increase the pressure on the neglected and dilapidated Nigerian roads and further worsen their state.

The lawmaker noted that FERMA had a budgetary approval of just 20 per cent of the funds the agency required for the rehabilitation of about 35,000km of federal roads in 2022.

Bassey observed that about N850 billion was to accrued to FERMA from five per cent User Charge on pump price of petrol, diesel and international vehicle transit charges.

He said the amount, which was provided for in Section 14 of FERMA (Amendment) Act No.18 of 2007, was still being owed FERMA by the Federal Government.

“The humongous debt owed FERMA by the Federal Government has hampered the effective discharge of the agency’s primary responsibility of road maintenance and rehabilitation,” he said.

Contributing, Sen. George Sekibo (PDP-Rivers) decried the deplorable state of the roads.

“The roads are bad and the airfares are high. This affects the economy.

“The law establishing FERMA in Section 14 has provided a five per cent charge from petroleum pump prices. This money from inception of the law is being collected. Who is collecting it?

“Over N850 billion has been collected. If we have N850 billion, maybe it won’t be able to complete all the roads but it will repair 50 per cent and people can now move easily.”

He said that until there was ease of movement, “the economy cannot move”.

Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, who presided over plenary passed all the prayers of the motion.

February 22, 2022
Kogi declares ‘state of emergency’ on education

The Kogi Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Wemi Jones, on Friday said the State Government has declared ”a state of emergency” in the education sector in the state.

Jones disclosed this on Friday during the Educational Task Force Meeting with some critical Educational Stakeholders in Kogi Central Senatorial District, at Government Day Secondary School (GDSS), Iruvucheba, Okene Local Governnent Area of the state.

He expressed optimism that the move by Gov. Yahaya Bello, had brought innovations and remodelling of secondary schools in the state, with a view to making the state regain its lost glory in Education.

He noted that with the state having two Universities, there was a dare need to adequately prepare students in secondary schools to fit into the vision of the governor for quality assurance and become self reliant.

Jones described education as the only guarantee for the future, noting that the emergency system had also manifested in several ongoing renovation and rehabilitation projects in the Central Senatorial District and helped to reposition the education system in the state.

He emphasised the need for the state to move in the direction of science, technology, English and Mathematics, for it not to “be left behind in the new wave of educational development, hence the declaration of a State of Emergency on the sector”.

He described the commitment of Bello to education as unprecedented, adding that the state government was conscious of the shortfall of teachers in secondary schools and making efforts to fill the vacancies occasioned by retirements, transfers and the civil service reforms.

Jones, however solicited the support of stakeholders to the success of the adoption and mentorship programme, saying that the state government could not do it alone while calling on teachers and students to maintain discipline.

February 4, 2022
Declare state of emergency on national security now – Katsina Gov tells FG

Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on national security in order to bring an end to the loss of lives and properties in the country.

He made the call on Saturday in Katsina while declaring open the 2021 Third Quarter General Meeting of the Conference of the State Legislators of Nigeria – an umbrella body of the speakers of the 36 State Houses of Assembly.

Stressing that the security agencies are doing their best to tackle the lingering security challenges, the governor believes more needs to be done to curtail the activities of armed bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, and other criminals disturbing the peace of Nigeria.

He also highlighted some of the efforts made by his administration to restore peace in Katsina, saying tremendous successes have been recorded in the ongoing onslaught against banditry and other related crimes in the state.

Chairman of the Speakers Forum and Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, called on state governors who have not signed the bill on financial autonomy to swiftly do so.

This, according to him, is important as it will ensure effective and efficient implementation of financial autonomy across the country.

Suleiman, who described financial autonomy as germane for good governance, commended the courage and doggedness of the Katsina State government in tackling banditry and other forms of crime.

In his remarks, the Speaker of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Tasi’u Maigari, explained that the conference sought to find legislative ways to proffer lasting solutions to insecurity, disunity, and economic instability, among other challenges facing the country.

Maigari, who is also the Vice Chairman of the North West Speakers’ Forum, thanked Governor Masari for his support to the Katsina State House of Assembly in executing its mandate.

The theme of the conference is ‘The Menace of Insecurity in the Country and the Role of State Assemblies to Restore Peace and Order’.

While it later went into a technical session, the lawmakers are expected to deliberate on a legislative framework at the conference.

If adopted, security experts say the framework will go a long way to complement the effort of the Federal Government to tackle insecurity in the country.

October 23, 2021
State of emergency: Anambra House of Assembly calls for Malami’s head

The Anambra State House of Assembly has called for the immediate sack of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami.

TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Special Assistant on Social Media and Special Duties to the Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr Caleb Okechukwu made this known in a statement on Thursday.

The statement follows a House’s resolution in which the Assembly urged President Muhammadu Buhari to reinforce police and security operatives for the protection of the good people of Anambra State.

Read statement below:

STATE OF EMERGENCY: Anambra State House of Assembly has today, Thursday, October 7, 2021., in a motion of Urgent Public Importance resolved as follows;

1. That the Anambra State House of Assembly rejects and condemns the statement credited to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Malam Abubakar Malami that the possibility of declaring a State of Emergency in Anambra State cannot be ruled out.

2. Calls on the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Malami to tender an unreserved apology to Anambra State immediately over his unwarranted suggestion of a State of Emergency in Anambra State.

3. The house also calls on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari to sack Mr Malami as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice if he fails to tender an apology to Anambra State or resigns.

4. Urges the President of the Federation of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari to reinforce police and security operatives for the protection of the good people of Anambra State.

TNG reports the plenary was presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Uche Victor Okafor, and 27 House members were in attendance.

October 7, 2021
Obiano runs to Buhari over Malami’s emergency rule threats in Anambra, says president not in support

Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is not in support of the proposed state of emergency in the state.

Obiano stated this on Thursday after a meeting with the President at the villa in Abuja.

According to the governor, President Buhari does not want any form of intimidation ahead of the polls.

Governor Obiano who further stated that he has reported the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami to Buhari, described as “unfortunate” the comments suggesting that the State of Emergency could be imposed on Anambra to engender security of lives.

The governor, while expressing his displeasure at the fact that Malami did not make such an assertion regarding the crisis brewing in other northern states, advised the justice minister to reserve his expressions over such issues.

The governor also rejected assertions that members of the ruling All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state House of Assembly had defected to the All Progressive Congress (APC), explaining that the members were given a hundred million each to join the opposition.

TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that following the wave of insecurity ravaging Anambra State and the southeast region in general, the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, announced on Wednesday that a state of emergency may be imposed.

According to Malami, the move would be made in a bid to tighten security ahead of the November 6 governorship election in the state.

Malami said the government will do everything possible to ensure the protection of lives and property adding that where there is evidence of a failure of the state government to ensure democratic order and security of lives, the Federal Government will prevail and will not rule out the possibility of imposing a state of emergency.

Recent violent events in Anambra have stirred doubts regarding the possibility of holding a free and fair election in the state come November.

TNG recalls that in the last couple of weeks, at least 10 persons have been killed in various attacks across the state, forcing leaders to begin critical deliberations as to how the tide can be stemmed.

On Tuesday the South-East Governors’ Forum said the ‘Ebube Agu’ security outfit will be established in all five states before the end of the year.

The governors said this as part of their eight-point agenda during a meeting that took place at the Enugu State Government House.

“The meeting agreed that the South-East Ebube Agu security outfit is launched in all the southeast states and laws passed in various southeast states before the end of 2021,” the communique read.

The security outfit was established in April as part of plans to checkmate the rising unrest in the region.

October 7, 2021