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1966 Coup:What is important for Nigeria at this stage is National Reconciliation and Healing-Senator  Umeh

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9 months ago

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Senator Victor Umeh, chairman, Senate C'ttee on National Population and Identity Card, representing Anambra Central.
Senator Victor Umeh, Chairman Senate committee on National Population and Identity Card, representing Anambra Central district in the Senate has stressed the need for a national reconciliation and healing.
In this interview with IGNATIUS OKOROCHA, Senator Umeh who reflected on the content of General Babangida recent book challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to accord a National Honour on the former INEC chairman, Prof.Humphrey Nwosu while asking him to find a way to pacify the Igbos for the huge loss they sustained during the 1966 civil war.
 He speaks on the upcoming National census, and other issues of national importance.
Excerpt:
Former Nigeria’s military dictator, in his book which he recently launched in Abuja, gave insight into the 1966 coup, clarifying that it was not Igbo coup. What is your take on his position?
Well, I believe that what is very important for Nigeria at this stage is a national reconciliation and healing. You know, Babangida’s book was a very great book that he wrote, apart from bringing out the facts even against himself in the annulment of the June 12th presidential election, which he  accepted responsibility, but also said that he was wrong in what he did. He was also able to make fundamental statements as a young military officer then about what happened in the civil war, what led to the civil war, particularly the first coup of January 15, 1966. It was able to bring out what myself had known previously because I worked with General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu when he was National Leader of APGA and I was National Chairman of APGA. I worked very closely with him for five years, and most of these things I already had them in my knowledge. That coup was not an Igbo coup. The way Babangida posited in his own book, the account he gave of the coup is something that is open even for unbiased minds to have come to terms with it a long time ago. But because of maybe the casualties of that coup, people have not averted their minds to the concrete undeniable facts that the same coup was crushed by Igbo people. Ojukwu was in Kano then and he didn’t agree with the coup. And when he spoke with Major Nzeogwu, he was a Lieutenant Colonel then; so he was a  senior officer to Nzeogwu, he disagreed with them, the same Ojukwu that later led Biafra.
From why we struck by Colonel Ben Gbulie, he said it clearly. He put down the names of these other people who were involved in the coup who were not Igbos, who were from Western Nigeria. General Babangida in his book, wrote their names and the commands they led in the coup execution. So, it was not the intention of the coupists as told by the people themselves including Col. Ben Gbulie, their intention was to bring Awolowo out of the Calabar prison because they, the revolutionarists, the officers of that time, were not happy with the government of the day. They felt that Awolowo was a more progressive person than the people in authority. So, they were planning a better society for Nigeria to make Awolowo an ideal President and head of state, but their coup failed and because their failed, what could you now say? So, I’ve seen a lot of people writing in reaction to what Babangida said. Someone who has been head of state of Nigeria for eight years, and he was chief of army staff at some point. So, he went through the army and they had knowledge both classified information about everything that happened during the war. So, he gave that statement as a patriotic Nigerian to speak the truth even though they are being punished because of that coup. We have lost so much because of that coup and it was because of misdirection and misrepresentation. There was never a time the Igbo people met and decided to organize a coup. More than anything, the coup set Eastern region backwards because at the time the coup took place Eastern region was one of the leading economies in the world. Dr. Michael Okpara was doing great work. In Western Nigeria, the Western Nigerian government was doing marvelously well. Things were going well even in the North. Agricultural produce was helping the economy of Northern Nigeria. Groundnut pyramids, cotton, all these things have all gone because of that coup that led to the the second coup that brought Gowon, and Gowon divided Nigeria into 12 states, destroyed the four regions we had. His his own coup came because even with the January 15, 1966 coup, Nigeria was still four regions. There were military administrators appointed when General Ironsi became the head of state. So, he had military people as heads of governments of the four regions until Gowon dissolved the four regions and created 12 states in 1967. So, that is what happened and that is our history. So from that Gowon dividing Nigeria into 12 states, the orgy of creating more states and local governments by the military continued that today we have 36 states and 774 local governments, with the few divisions we had under the first Republic so people should be able to know how things happened and Babangida did a great job by bringing out some of the silent truths. He fought in the army and he spoke about his own experience, a close show with death. So I commend him again for that, for putting the record straight. Those who are controverting him now cannot say that Igbo officers that took part and killed Igbo officers were killed in the coup of Nzeogwu. Igbo people were killed, Igbo officers killed Igbo officers, showing that it was a national revolution not targeted at any tribe; otherwise Chris Anuforo that I later met in my life couldn’t have killed Lieutenant Colonel Unebe. You know he’s an Igbo man. So this was young officers who want to execute their conviction and it turned out the way it did. So I pray that those who lost their lives in all this thing that God rest their souls and give Nigeria a healing spirit so that we can put our past behind. You know they don’t teach history in the colleges now, in the secondary schools in the curriculum. But Babangida brought out his book that has become almost an encyclopedia of history, that nobody can throw away. It was written by a man who was involved and who was the head of state of Nigeria who has played so great roles in shaping the future of Nigeria the way it is whether good or bad. So my soul is uplifted reading from Babangida, that the 1966 was not a coup by the Igbo people for selfish interests of the Igbo nation of Nigeria. These were people who were in the army, who had their own ideas of how things would be. They weren’t carrying out the coup to go and make an Igbo man the head of state. So if the coup had gone through and Awolowo was brought out and put as head of state of Nigeria, maybe the Igbos would have been spared the onslaught and the ethnic cleansing would have been subjected both in public and military life in this country. So, what I am asking for now is that with this account and the truth revealed conscience is an open wound and only the truth can heal it. If they know all those things they denied the Igbo people because of that coup, they should begin to make adjustments and know that the Igbos did not organise any coup to make the Igbo people in Nigeria dominate over others. What the Igbos have had as part of them is their hard work; their adventurous spirit of commerce and business. Since the war ended despite all the discriminations put on our way and the marginalization that followed the structural imbalance in Nigeria, occasioned by the military creation of states and local governments, the Igbos have continued to move on despite the privileges they are denied as citizens of Nigeria.
So, there is need for reunion and reintegration of the Igbos into Nigeria particularly in the area of Science. The Biafran engineers and scientists developed weapons of mass destruction. But because that these were done by the Igbo people, that ingenuity and  inventions were allowed to relax and waste when the war ended. So the scientists that built these weapons of mass destruction were rather put under watch. They have all died and I know that Nigeria lost because necessity is the mother of all inventions. As soon as the war ended and Gowon made a historic speech of no victor no vanquished, he would have gone for those Biafran scientists. He would have sent them abroad, if he was thinking properly, though most of them trained abroad in good universities and became Biafran engineers. He would have sent them on advanced courses and now Nigeria would have had nuclear weapons. They died poor because most of the things they would have done because of their education, they were denied all those things. They were placed under watch by the successive regimes in Nigeria until they died. So that is a loss the nation has suffered.
The present government is proposing to conduct a census and now you are the Chairman of the Senate Committee on population. How is your Committee working in liaison with the appropriate agency?
No, I just took over as Chairman of that Committee on the 4th of February, when the Senate President made the changes. The process is on. To get brief and all that, the Chairman of the National Population Commission has come here on a courtesy visit to familiarise himself with the new leadership. And step by step, we’ll be able to discuss, to know what their programs are. I intend to call him again to meet the committee. Even though he has met with the Committee, under the previous Chairman, the Senior Senator Abdul Mingi, we are yet to meet as a Committee. So, when he gets ready with his programs, he’ll come back. Remember, they just did their budget defense before these changes were made. So we’re working with that budget, which has been approved. But in that budget, there is no provision for census in 2025. But I know that the President, if he wants the census to be conducted, he has the opportunity to bring a supplementary budget, to accommodate the census Or he has a service-wide vote from where he can dip his hands and fund the census, if need be. So, but everything will depend on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria accepting that the census shall take place. And he will make a declaration. The law, the Constitution requires that you should make a declaration that there shall be census. So, we went to him. His programs will determine what happens next. But the preparations will continue to go on until a formal declaration is made by the President.
Nigeria has not conducted a census for decades. What is Nigeria going to gain by conducting it now, and what has the country lost for not conducting it all these years?
Census is very important for planning. A nation that does not know the number of human beings living inside that nation cannot make adequate provisions for the needs of the people; so census will give you the demographic data: age brackets of each part of the population, people between one day and maybe 10 years and so on and so forth. You graduate it over and you have a data with which you can now make specific provision to look after those people. You now know the number of old men and women living in Nigeria who require special care people who have become vulnerable as a result of old age. Then the children who are of school age how to provide for their educational needs. So, it’s not sufficient for you to continue to say Nigeria is above 200 million people and they continue to budget for above 200 million people you may be under providing because the critical segments in the population may not be adequately because you don’t know how many there are you understand so population census is a very important thing to do in any country and you know you keep updating it the law we have is that you do census every 10 years every 10 years you update your population you do another census to know how many people who have died, how many people have moved from this age bracket to another. You continue to do that, and it will help government in its planning. So that’s why census is very important. Some people have tended to say that census is also needed for election purposes. Well, that you know the number of people in Nigeria is one thing, but not everybody who is a Nigerian or who is captured in the population on the census exercise can want to vote or register to be a voter. So, the electoral register maintained by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is different from the number of people living in Nigeria. So, you may have people eligible to vote. There may be about, say, 100 million people, and only about 80 million people register to get their voter’s card to be able to participate in the election. So, these things are distinguishable, and census can take place at any time. The one that will be used to conduct the election will be the one INEC has in its register of voters.
The recent drama that happened on February 20, 2025, on the floor of the Senate between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over change of sitting position, has  brought a serious embarrassment to the Senate and Nigeria at large. How do you feel about the whole scenario?
The Nigerian media can never, both social media and the conventional media, they have refused to focus on positive things happening in Nigeria. The only thing they draw up is something they think they can use to do sensational headlines. It doesn’t help. The Senate has a Standing rule, and it was read out. I wasn’t in the plenary on that day. I was away on duty in Lagos. I went to attend a major stakeholders meeting organized by the Federal Ministry of Works. People in the building material manufacturing sector. So myself and my Chairman, we all went there with our colleague in the House of Representatives to be part of the dialogue and conversation to see what we can do to help to bring down the prices of building materials in Nigeria, to be able to enhance production of affordable housing for Nigerians. But the costs have gone all out of reach. Both cement, sand and even labor. So, we went for that exercise, and this thing happened on Thursday the 20th of February.
I’ve seen the clips, and it’s something, as an elder person now, I will tell you that that outburst was unnecessary. The Senate Standing Rule is another book that is there. It gives the power for allocation of seats to members to the President of the Senate. And it empowers him to also change the seats at different times. And this one was the case of two members of the left side of the aisle, that is the opposition side, defecting to that side. And the Senate abhors open seats. In any side. So, once somebody moves, there must be closing of gaps. It has happened before. So, I think for some reason I could not understand, our sister decided to make case out of it. But our rule is also that you don’t speak when you are not on your seat assigned to you. If you’re not on your seat, the President of the Senate will not recognize you to speak. And when she refused to go to the seat allocated to her and wanted to speak, the Senate President rightly ignored her and said you cannot speak because you’re not on your seat. Go to your seat and then address me. He was quoting Order 10 which deals with  outside your seat. So, if she had gone to the seat given to her and then shout Order 10,  privileges, the Senate President would have listened to her. So, it was a case of not observing the rules and decided to make a case out of actually something I didn’t consider necessary. And that was the attack and the whole media picked it and gave it all kinds of colorations and so on and so forth. The Senate President did not ask them to move Natasha to a particular seat. It was the agreement done by the Sergeant-at-Arms with the Senate Services Committee. It has happened to me. I was in the U.S last year in Houston attending OTC, Oil and Technological Conference, and the Senate President called me by himself. And I answered. He said, please, that he would like to swap my seat with that of Senator Fadaunsi. I was sitting at the edge of the aisle. Fadaunsi was sitting inside. And he told me, for medical reasons, that they would like me to go inside and Fadaunsi would go to the aisle to enable him to move out anytime he wanted to move out urgently. I told him, with all pleasure, do that. What is in it where you sit? So, I now sit inside, away from where I was located. I didn’t make any fuse out of it because he told me in advance. Later on, some people started arranging it again, and I was amazed. I don’t struggle for such things because if you are there, that chamber, there’s no place to sit that you cannot be sighted by the presiding officer. If you have anything to do, if the Senate President is not catching you when you want to make a major contribution, you can now rely on Order 10 privileges which require that every Senator shall be heard. On matters of debate. So, that’s it. I would like you to help to diffuse the tension. Now, what happened, the Senate President was absolutely right in the way he conducted the proceedings of the Senate on that day. And our sister, we’ve also tried to counsel her. People have talked to her, myself, I’ve also sent her a message, you know, to calm down. And in the Parliament, you have to follow the rules of the parliament. If there are things that you do not like, there are alternative ways of addressing them. You can go and seek private audience with the Senate President after the day’s session, and go and tell him things that you didn’t like that happened. I know Senator Akpabio, you cover our proceedings. He is a very jovial person. He can make joke out of anything, even when you think that he will come out strong hitting you, he will laugh and make joke against you and move on. He’s not somebody who carries such things to extreme level. Now, the Senate has suspended her based on the investigation, findings and recommendations of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions. It came to that point because of her later actions and unwillingness to show remorse. However, I believe she will learn a big lesson from the development and come out stronger as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It’s also a lesson for all of us Senators and indeed Nigerians. As I said earlier, we have a rule book which provides guidelines for our conduct. We cannot be making laws for Nigerians and refuse to adhere to our own internal rules. That’s all I can say about that.
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Politics

Rivers Assembly Speaker, 16 others dump PDP for APC

Published

1 day ago

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December 6, 2025

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Speaker of the House, Martin Amaehwule, 16 others defect to APC

By Our Correspondent
Seventeen members of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, on Friday, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressive Congress (APC).

The lawmakers announced their defection during plenary on Friday, December 5, 2025 at the Auditorium of the Assembly quarters currently used as the hallowed chambers.

The defected lawmakers, led by Speaker of the House, Martin Amaehwule, cited the division in the PDP at the national level as the reason for their defection, noting that the situation has made the future of the party “hazy and nebulous”.

Among the lawmakers who defected to the All Progressive Congress were; the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol, Majority Leader, Major Jack, Deputy Majority Leader, Linda Somiari- Stewart, Chief Whip, Hon. Frankline Nwabuchi, and the Deputy Whip, Hon. Ofiks Kabang.

Others are; Hon. Peter Abbey, Smart Adoki, Igwe Aforji, Arnold Davids, Enemi George, Tekenari Granville, Christian Nwankwo, Gerald Oforji, Azeru Opara, Lolo Opuende, and Hon. Solomon Wami.

Recall that the Speaker, Martin Amaehwule had in December 2023, in the heat of the over two years political crisis in the state, led all 27 members of the Assembly loyal to the FCT Minister to the APC but later denied their defection, and returned to the PDP.

Meanwhile, the PDP which is now the minority party in the House with 9 members, has constituted their officers with Hon. Sylvanus Nwankwo emerging the Minority Leader, Hon. Barile Nwakoh was elected Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. John Dominic Iderima, Minority Whip, and Hon. Justina Emeji, Deputy Minority Whip.

The Assembly has also renewed its earlier call on the State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to forward his list of Commissioner-nominees to the House for screening and confirmation in line with the 1999 Constitution; regretting that “the State is yet to have the complement of a full cabinet.”

The Assembly also reaffirmed its earlier resolution made on the 14th of December, 2023, and adopted the auditorium at the State House of Assembly quarters as its legitimate and lawful Chamber for the conduct of legislative businesses for the life of the Tenth Assembly of the State.

Speaker of the Assembly, Martin Amaehwule in his speech lauded President Bola Tinubu for his purposeful and exceptional leadership and pledged their support to the APC and the President.

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Politics

Sulu – Gambari , Ita Enang , Dambazzau , Ibas Ibok -Ete, 61 others make Tinubu’s Ambassadorial list

Published

3 days ago

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December 4, 2025

By

Senate in session in the chamber

By George Mgbeleke

The Senate Thursday received requests for confirmation of nominations of 65 Ambassadorial nominees from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The nominees as read from two different lists by the President of the Senate , Godswill Akpabio during plenary, fell into two categories of 34 Career Ambassadors and High Commissioners and 31 Non – Career Ambassadors and High Commissioners designate .

Notable names among the 34 Carrer Ambassadors and High Commissioners are Ambassador Sulu – Gambari Olatunji Ahmed from Kwara State , Ambassador Ahmed Mohammed Monguno from Borno State , Ambassador
Maimuna Ibrahim from Adamawa State etc .

Notable in the list of Non Career Ambassadors and High Commissioners are Senator Solomon Ita Enang from Akwa Ibom State , Vice Admiral Ibas Ibok – Ete from Cross River State , Ex Chief of Army Staff, Abdulrahaman Dambazzau from Kano etc .

President Tinubu in the requests hinged on section 171 sub section 1, 2 and 4 of the 1999 Constitution , sought for expeditious consideration of the nominees .

Accordingly, the President of the Senate, forwarded the requests to the committee on Foreign affairs for screening and report back within one week .

Recall that President Tinubu had earlier forwarded to the Senate , three ambassadorial nominees last week for appointment confirmation .

The three earlier nominees , namely
Kayode Are ( Ogun State), Aminu Dalhatu ( Jigawa) and Ayodele Oke ( Oyo State ), were screened on Wednesday by Senator Abubakar Sani Bello ( Niger North ) led committee .

Full list of the Ambassadorial nominees per state reads : ” Ambassador Ezenwa Chukwuemeka ( Abia ) Maimuna Ibrahim ( Adamawa ), Monica Ogochukwu ( Anambra) ,
Ambassador Mohammed Mahmoud Lele ( Bauchi) ,
Endoni Sindo ( Bayelsa) and Ambassador Ahmed Mohammed Minguno ( Borno ) .

Others are Jane Adams Okon Michael ( Cross River ), Clark Omeruo Alexandra ( Delta ), Chimma Geofrey Davies ( Ebonyi) ,
Oduma Yvonne Ehinose ( Edo State ), Wasa Segun Ige ( Edo State )
Ambassador Adeyemi Adebayo Emmanuel ( Ekiti ), Ambassador Onaga Ogechukwu Kingsley ( Enugu ) and

Magaji Umar ( Jigawa) .

Other nominees in the category of Career Ambassadors are
Mohammed Saidu Dahiru ( Kaduna ) ,
AbdulSalam Abus Zayat ( kano) ,
Shehu Barde ( Katsina ) , Aminu Nasiu ( Katsina ),
Abubakar Musa Musa ( Kebbi) ,Mohammed Idris ( Kebbi) ,
Bako Adamu Umar ( Kogi ) ,

Sulu Gambari Olatunji Ahmed ( Kwara ),
Ramata Mohammed ( Lagos ), Shaga John Shama ( Nasarawa )
Salau Hamza Mohammed ( Niger ) and Ibrahim Danlami ( Niger ) .

Others are
Adeola Ibrahim Mopelola ( Ogun) ,
Ruben Abimbola Samuel ( Ondo),
Akande Wahab Adekola ( Osun) ,
Adedokun Esther ( Oyo) ,

Gedagi Joseph John ( Plateau ) ,

Luther Obomode Ayokalata ( Rivers ),

Danladi Yakubu Yaku ( Taraba ) and

Bello Dogondaji ( ( Zamfara ) .

Names on the list of the 31 Non – career ambassadorial nominees are
Senator Grace Bent ( Adamawa ) , Senator Eta Enang ( Akwa – Ibom),
Nkechi Linda Okocha ( Anambra ),
Mahmud Yakubu ( Bauchi )
Philip K. Ikurusi ( Bayelsa ) ,

Paul Oga Adikwu ( Benue ),
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas rtd ( Cross River ),
Hon. Abasi Braimah ( Edo ) and

Erelu Angela Adebayo Ekiti )

Others are Barrister Olumilua Oluwayimika Ayotunwa ( Ekiti ),
Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi ( Enugu State ) ,
Barr. Mrs. Chioma Ohakim ( Imo State ),

Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (rtd.) ( Kano State ),
Hon. Tasiu Musa Maigari ( Katsina ) ,
Alhaji Abubakar Sanusi Aliyu ( Kogi) and
Olufemi Pedro ( Lagos State ) .

Others are
Barr. Mohammed Ubandoma Aliyu ( Nasarawa ),
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim ( Ondo), Ambassador Joseph Sola Iji ( Ondo ),

Fani-Kayode ( Osun ) , Professor O. Adewole ( Osun) , Florence Ajimobi ( Oyo ), Lola Akande ( Oyo), Professor Nora Ladi Daduut ( Plateau) , Yakubu N. Gambo ( Plateau ) , Chukwujinka Okocha ( Rivers ) , Haruna Abubakar ( Sokoto ) , Rt Hon Jerry Samuel Manwe ( Taraba ) and Adamu Garba Talba Nangree ( Yobe State ) .

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Politics

Kano Guberpoll: Former LG chairmen adopt Sen Barau as APC’s sole candidate for 2027

Published

3 days ago

on

December 4, 2025

By

Deputy President of Senate, Barau Jibrin

By George Mgbeleke

Former local government chairmen in Kano State have adopted the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, as the sole candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 governorship race in the state.

The former LG chairmen who served between 2019 and 2022, during the era of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as Governor of the state, adopted Senator Barau during a courtesy call to the National Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday.

A motion for the adoption of Senator Barau was moved by the former chairman of Rimin Gado Local Government Area, Barrister Dahiru Mannir Maigari, and seconded by the former chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state, Hon. Baffa Mohammed Takai.

When the former chairman of Madobi LGA, Alhaji Mohammed Yahaya, put the vote, all the former chairmen unanimously approved it through a voice vote.

Two members of the Kano State House of Assembly, Hon Zubairu Hamza Masu (Sumaila) and Hon Garba Yau Gwarmai (Tsanyawa/Ghari), witnessed the event.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Media and Publicity, Malam Ismail Mudashir, said that after the voice vote, the local government chairmen appealed to Senator Barau to declare for the governorship race as soon as possible.

Former chairman of Gwale LGA. Alhaji Khalid Ishak Diso informed the Deputy President of the Senate that the people of Kano, especially at the grassroots level, are eagerly awaiting his declaration for the race.

” Kano people are waiting for you to declare for the governorship race. We recently organised an event, where we asked you to declare. You are yet to. The people of Kano are anxiously awaiting your declaration. When are you declaring? Please answer the call to serve our people,” he said.

Also, the former Chairman of ALGON, Baffa Mohammed Takai, who led his colleagues on the courtesy call, said they adopted Senator Barau in view of his outstanding performance in parliament, adding that his contributions to Kano’s development are immense.

” We are here to throw our weight behind you. We are 100 per cent with you. Insha’Allah, you will be the next governor of Kano State, come May 29, 2027. You have the capacity to address the challenges facing our state,” he said.

Responding, the Deputy President of the Senate thanked the former local government chairmen for their support, describing them as grassroots politicians.

“It’s indeed true that Kano was second to Lagos before, in terms of development, in terms of commerce and so on. Unfortunately, Kano is now trailing behind due to a lack of good leadership. Let us not live in denial. This is a fact that we must all work together to address in the interest of our people and state.

“I wish to assure you that by the grace of God, we will take bold steps to bring Kano back to its glorious days. We will succeed by the grace of God. We will always stand by the truth and for our people,” he said.

* Tsanyawa, Ghari stakeholders endorse Barau

Meanwhile, stakeholders from Tsanyawa and Ghari LGAs of Kano State have also thrown their weight behind Senator Barau’s candidature during their visit to him on Wednesday.

A member of the Kano State House of Assembly, Hon. Garba Yau Gwarmai, representing Tsanyawa/Ghari, moved the motion, which Hon. Aminu Yakanawa seconded. A thunderous ovation from over 100 stakeholders in attendance followed the announcement of the endorsement.

Yakanawa told the Deputy President of the Senate that the people of the two local government areas are solidly behind him.

” By the grace of Allah SWT, you are the next governor of Kano State. Our people are solidly behind you, and we are committed to supporting you,” he said

Responding, Senator Barau thanked them for the support, saying the massive support from all the people of the state is a signal of what will happen in 2027.

On the security challenges facing some parts of Tsanyawa and Shanono LGAs, he said, ” We are not leaving any stone unturned in tackling this challenge. We are working underground to bring an end to it. We have taken all the necessary steps. It is not something that we go to radio stations to announce.”

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