By David Owei, Bayelsa

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro, has described the programme’s scholarship scheme as a major vehicle towards ensuring a better future for the Niger Delta.

He spoke at the opening ceremony for the fifth batch of the two-day “Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Mediation Training for PAP Stakeholders” organised by the Office in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Defence College (AANDEC) at the Nigerian Army War College, Abuja, on Thursday.

Otuaro, who declared the workshop open, said that the decision for the massive deployment of scholarship students to universities within and outside Nigeria is informed by the need to utilise formal education to build a sure future for the communities in the region.

According to him, his leadership’s focus on education is aimed at investing in the youths as a deliberate effort to equip them to be drivers of the planned prosperity, peace, stability and development of the Niger Delta in the years ahead.

He said, “We have seriously focused on education, and the scholarship programme is a proper vehicle for a better tomorrow for our region. So far, between 2024 and 2025, we have deployed over 9000 scholarship students to universities within and outside Nigeria; in-country deployment alone this year is 4500.

“These are deliberate efforts we are taking to prepare our region for tomorrow. We need to prepare the next generation for the challenges of peace, socio-economic growth, development, and security.

“If we don’t equip our youths today with education, tomorrow would not be assured. It is time to prepare for the rainy day, that is why we are deliberately investing in the education of our young ones.

“I believe that the scholarship beneficiaries will appreciate this opportunity that we are giving to them. For nearly two years, we have tried as much as possible to impact nearly all communities through the scholarship programme.”

Otuaro explained that the capacity-building workshop was organised to consolidate the PAP’s peacebuilding process in the Niger Delta in alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

He told the participants that they have a great role to play in the task of deepening the peacebuilding process because they are stakeholders and leaders in their own right.

The PAP helmsman said the time had come for stakeholders to unite strongly and come together to resolve issues in the region without the involvement of outsiders.

He urged the participants to be role models for stability and peace ambassadors of President Tinubu in the Niger Delta.

He stressed that peacebuilding should be their watchword going forward.

Otuaro expressed appreciation to Tinubu for his steadfast support for the PAP, saying that the president is pleased with the existing peace and stability in the Niger Delta.

He also applauded the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his encouragement and strategic supervision of the PAP.

Otuaro further extended gratitude the management of the Nigerian Army War College, resource persons, and the leadership and membership of the AANDEC for partnering with the PAP to deepen the peacebuilding process in the region.

By David Owei,Bayelsa

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state has reaffirmed the full determination of Osun people to defeat the All Progressives Congress(APC) in the 2026 polls, declaring unequivocally “I will beat Oyebamiji by the might of God and people”

Reacting to statements credited to Mr Gboyega Oyetola at the APC guber Primary on Saturday, the governor described the minister’s hope for victory as “wishful thinking, illusory grandstanding and a failure to accept the deep level of unpopularity of APC among the people of Osun state”

Calling Oyetola regime an anti-people era in Osun history, Governor Adeleke lamented the run down state of affairs when he took over the state in 2022, tagging Oyetola reign “a dark page in Osun socio-political history, a period neither labour nor any segment of our population want re-enacted”

The governor who boasted of a mass movement behind his re- election bid mocked the minister and the APC for embarking on anti-democratic activities instead of marketing themselves to the people and potential voters.

“If you are sure you have the votes of the people, why are you deploying anti-democratic means to stop the unstoppable will of our people? It is shameful and reprehensible that those who claim to be popular are dead scared to face the people in a free and fair election.

Governor Adeleke, speaking on Sunday through his Spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, described the claim as “a clear misreading of the political reality in Osun State, the people of the State are fully satisfied with the people-oriented and responsive governance being delivered by the present administration.

“Osun citizens are enjoying a government that prioritises workers’ welfare, infrastructural renewal, healthcare delivery, education, and inclusive development, and therefore have no desire to return to the era of hardship, neglect, and anti-people policies associated with the APC’s 12-year rule in the State.”

“You and your proxy, now the APC’s governorship candidate, were central figures in the mismanagement that plunged Osun State into economic distress, characterised by half salaries, mounting debts, and poor service delivery to the people. Osun will not go back to the dark days”, the governor was quoted as saying.

Governor Adeleke emphasised that his administration is currently reversing those damages and restoring dignity to governance in the State as attested to by several awards and recognition including the newest one, the winner of Primary health care leadership challenge for South West.

He further asserted that the impressive performance of his administration across all critical sectors has earned the trust and confidence of the people, who are determined to defend the gains of good governance at the polls.

“As the August 8, 2026 gubernatorial election approaches, Osun people are fully aware that a vote for the APC and its candidate is a vote for a return to the failures of the past. Such a regression is one the people of Osun are not prepared to entertain,” the Governor stated.

Governor Adeleke reaffirmed his commitment to sustained delivery of democratic dividends and urged Osun citizens to disregard political propaganda, assuring them of continued focus on people-centred development.

By George Mgbeleke

There was rowdy session in the Senate on Wednesday, as Senate rejected a motion seeking to summon the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over worsening waste management, sewage failures and the alleged unlawful revocation and conversion of designated green areas in Abuja.

The motion, titled “Urgent Need for Intervention in Waste Management, Sewage Services, Protection of Designated Green Areas, and Investigation into the Alleged Unlawful Seizure of Land Belonging to Bwari General Hospital, FCT,” was sponsored by Senator Ireti Kingibe (LP, FCT), alongside Senators Wadada Ahmed Aliyu, Mohammed Muntari Dandutse, Neda Imasuen, Aminu Iya Abass, Ibrahim Dakwambo and Orji Uzor Kalu.

Presenting the motion under Orders 41 and 51, which allows for urgent matters of importance to be raised without prior notice, Kingibe said the situation in the nation’s capital had reached “crisis proportions,” noting that “municipal waste collection across several districts of the FCT has not been carried out for several weeks, leading to massive accumulation of solid waste in residential, commercial and public spaces.”

She told the chamber that workers and contractors under the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, AEPB and other FCT agencies had “not been paid for about nine months,” a development she said had triggered industrial action and “the collapse of essential municipal services.”

According to her, “former waste management contractors were not paid between March and October 2025,” and although new contracts were awarded in mid-November 2025, “only 50 per cent of the former unpaid contractors were retained, while 50 per cent new ones were introduced.”

Kingibe added that the newly engaged contractors had formally written the FCT Minister, stating that “they cannot commence operations without a 30 per cent mobilisation fee,” further worsening delays in waste collection and sewage management.

She warned that “sewage blockages and accumulated waste have been building up for nearly eight months and have now reached crisis proportions,” stressing that blocked and overflowing sewage systems “expose residents to waterborne diseases, environmental contamination and severe sanitation risks.”

Beyond sanitation, the senator accused the FCT Administration of undermining the Abuja Master Plan through what she described as the systematic conversion of designated green areas.

“Green areas under the Abuja Master Plan, intended as service corridors for sewage, water and electricity infrastructure, as well as environmental buffers, are being built on through illegal revocations, forced evictions and reallocations,” she said.

Kingibe further alleged that “even where the reallocation of land is the subject of ongoing litigation, the FCT Minister has proceeded to demolish and reallocate such lands in total disregard of subsisting court processes.”

She cited the University of Abuja as a major victim, saying, “about 7,000 hectares of the university’s original 11,000 hectares have been taken over, reallocated or subjected to unauthorised use, leaving the institution with insufficient land to fulfil its statutory mandate.”

Recalling previous Senate intervention, she said, “Barely a year ago, this Senate was compelled to call the Honourable Minister of the FCT to order over similar issues, yet these practices persist.”

However, the Senate called for the motion to be dropped for not complying with the rules of the Red Chamber. Raising the issue, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said Kingibe had informed him, in compliance of the rules of the Senate, of a motion on rising solid waste in the FCT and ots attendant health risks but didn’t mention other issues – the inclusion of land revocation.

He noted that the order she cited only permits her to speak on a particular topic, adding that she ought to have raised a substantive motion to talk about everything she spoke of in her debate.

Similarly, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC Borno North), who had initially supported the motion and called for a summon of the FCT Minister, later withdrew his support. Also, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, dismissed the allegations against Wike as baseless, saying evidence of his work is clear for all to see.

“There are now developments in the FCT. The current minister changed the face of Abuja. He’s doing extremely very well. You cannot solve all problems at the same time, if there are other areas that needed to be done, we should engage our committee to interact with the minister so that he could do more,” he said.

Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, also called for the withdrawal of the motion, calling for a substantive motion on notice.

After the debates, Akpabio urged Kingibe to withdraw the motion and bring a motion on notice instead to which she complied.

“I will re-present it as substantive motion on waste management,” she said.