The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

Somersault

Government’s jettisoning of the National Language Policy is ill-advised

Education Minister Maruf Tunji Alausa recently announced the scrapping of the National Language Policy (NLP) that mandated the use of indigenous languages as medium of instruction in the early stages of education. The policy, which had been in place since the 1970s and was last reinforced in 2022, sought to promote Nigeria’s indigenous languages – many of which are going extinct – and preserve the country’s cultural heritage, especially in the formative years of life.

In 2022, government approved the NLP, which stipulated that from early childhood education to primary six, the language of instruction should be in the mother tongue or language of the immediate community of the young learner, while English remained the official language used in latter stages of education and in formal settings. It was projected that this would improve early childhood learning outcomes.

The minister, however, said Nigerian children had been performing abysmally in public examinations as a result of being taught in their mother tongue. According to him, the decision to cancel the policy followed extensive data analysis and evidence showing that the use of mother tongue as the main medium of instruction had negatively affected learning outcomes in several parts of the country.

He unveiled this new thinking at the 2025 Language in Education International Conference organised by the British Council in Abuja, penultimate Wednesday.

Speaking at the conference, Alausa said English would now be the language of instruction in Nigerian schools, from primary to tertiary levels. “We have seen mass failure rate in WAEC, NECO and JAMB in certain geo-political zones of the country, and those are the ones that adopted this mother tongue in an over-subscribed manner. This is about evidence-based governance. The national policy on language has been cancelled. English now stands as the medium of instruction from the pre-primary, primary, junior secondary, senior secondary up to the tertiary education level,” he said, adding: “Using the mother tongue language in Nigeria for the past 15 years has literally destroyed education in certain regions. We have to talk about evidence, not emotions.”

The minister argued that data gathered from schools across the country revealed that students taught primarily in indigenous languages recorded higher failure rate in national examinations and struggled with Basic English comprehension. “The national policy on language has been cancelled. English now stands as the medium of instruction across all levels of education,” he affirmed, urging stakeholders with a different view to present verifiable data in support since government remained open to evidence-based dialogue that would strengthen the education sector.

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Whatever may be the merit of the data referenced by the minister as basis for the policy backtrack, it sucks that he chose a forum organised by the British Council to make the announcement because of the neo-colonial ring of the whole scenario. We think it was insensitive to have made the announcement at that event.

Besides, the mother tongue policy did not come about in the first place without empirical and data evidence. One-time education minister and reputed scholar, the late Professor Babs Fafunwa, was a promoter of this policy and he pushed it on the strength of findings from a six-year Ile-Ife, Osun State, primary education study which showed that mother tongue as medium of educational instruction for the first 12 years of a child’s life aided learning outcomes. Research, according to him, showed that the Nigerian child was better suited to acquire skills and attitudes through the mother tongue.

Reports also cited studies by the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank which showed that early grade learners achieve higher literacy and reading outcomes when taught in their first language, compared with those taught exclusively in English. Mother tongue learning is indeed a global best practice, and authorities have argued that scrapping that mode of education would not necessarily improve English proficiency among second language learners. “Many countries around the world use their local languages to educate their children; the Chinese use Mandarin, Pakistanis use Urdu, Indians use Hindi, and the Basotho use Sesotho. Nigeria should not be an exception,” a scholar of Physical and Computational Chemistry at Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara State, Professor Sikiru Ahmed, recently told PUNCH newspaper.

We are of the view that the authorities did not do enough troubleshooting regarding what may have accounted for poor learning outcomes before coming to a sweeping and wrongheaded decision to kill the education by mother tongue initiative. The challenge has never been with the policy concept, but with its implementation owing to lack of adequate government investment in curriculum development and training of teachers to deliver the policy mandate. Educationists described the somersault as a setback to educational development, quest for national identity and cultural preservation – which other policies of government like the restoration of History as a taught subject in schools incidentally seek to reinforce.

“The national language policy was about enhancing learning by teaching children in a language they understand from a young age. Various research studies have shown that teaching in the local language, alongside English, removes learning barriers. There is a popular saying that ‘the gateway to the human heart is his mother tongue.’ If implemented, the policy was capable of fostering national unity and cohesion among different ethnic groups,” Professor Ahmed was reported saying.

Another scholar argued that the claim that mother tongue instruction promotes poor academic performance should have been subjected to empirical scrutiny before the policy backtrack. “Research has shown that pupils taught in their local language perform better, comprehend faster and can learn other languages easily. The ministry should have also examined the role of English as a language of instruction, mainly in elite schools, before concluding. I believe the government should have engaged educationists and university researchers before making such a sweeping reversal,” Professor Oyesoji Aremu of the Department of Guidance and Counselling at the University of Ibadan, said.

Other educationists acknowledged that the language policy implementation was fraught with challenges owing to Nigeria’s linguistic diversity. According to them, the policy was hobbled by the fact that Nigeria has over 600 dialects and there were neither trained teachers nor adequate instructional materials, not to mention the difficulty in deciding which language to adopt in multilingual communities.

But that is exactly why we argue that scrapping the policy was an abdication, not a solution. Government could have worked harder at curriculum development and manpower training to iron out the bottlenecks, not surrender to defeat as it has done by throwing out the baby (i.e. benefits of mother tongue learning) with the bath water.

Actually, it was jurisdictional overreach of sorts for government at the centre to have decided on primary and secondary education modalities that state governments and councils could have been saddled with the task of ironing out. You do not guillotine your natural identity just because you can’t get a handle on what it takes, and adopt a borrowed identity from foreign lands. We therefore enjoin a reconsideration of the language policy reversal.

November 23, 2025
Dan Agbese (1944 – 2025)
- A great journalist and wordsmith
His stardom in Nigerian journalism was undisputed. When he received the Prize for Lifetime Achievement at the 25th Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) held in Lagos in 2016, the citation captured his essence, characterising him as “a great columnist, stylist and wordsmith,” “witty and sarcastic,” a “master of informed commentary,” and “easily one of Nigeria’s most respected and influential writers.”

Dan Agbese’s death on November 17, aged 81, predictably made the headlines. It was perhaps the ultimate tribute to the veteran journalist, widely acknowledged as a superb headline writer.

The DAME citation added that “Agbese’s lasting impact, perhaps, lies in the rigour he brings to his work, in the care employed in his choice of subjects and words, in the logic that accompanies his writings, and the engaging style in which he presents them.”

Born in Agila, Ado Local Government Area of present-day Benue State, where he held a chieftaincy title, Awan’Otun, he studied Journalism at the University of Lagos (1970-1973) and Thomson Foundation, Cardiff, UK (1976); and earned a master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University, New York, USA (1976-1977).

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His professional life as a journalist began after a teaching stint. He served as a staff writer for the New Nigerian newspapers (1967–1970). He was chief sub-editor of The Nigerian Standard, Jos (1974–1976), and later assistant editor (1978–1980). He also served as general manager of Radio Benue, Makurdi (1980); special adviser and director of information for Benue State (1980–1982); and editor of New Nigerian, Kaduna (1982–1984).

The defining period of his career was his partnership with Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, and Yakubu Muhammed to co-found Newswatch magazine in 1984, a brand that revolutionised Nigerian journalism with its investigative flair and presentational style. At some point, the magazine’s professional pursuit of truth got it into trouble with the military government of the day.

It is a testimony to the magazine’s success and appeal that it inspired the founding of several other magazines fashioned after its model.

He initially served as the magazine’s managing editor, and later became deputy editor-in-chief/deputy chief executive (1986-1994), and editor-in-chief (1994-2010). After he retired from Newswatch Communication Limited in 2011, he co-established a media consultancy.

He wrote books, including some aimed at improving journalism practice in the country. His books include “Fellow Nigerians: Turning Points in the Political History of Nigeria (1966 – 1999)”; “Nigeria, their Nigeria”; “Babangida: Military, Politics and Power in Nigeria”; “Style: A Guide to Good Writing”; “The Reporter’s Companion”; “The Columnist’s Companion: The Art and Craft of Column Writing”; and “The Energy Crises in Nigeria.”

Indeed, he had planned to set up a book publishing company after his post-graduate studies. He said in an interview: “I thought I was going into book publishing. This was because I had had a long association with book publishing from the period of my youth service in 1973/1974. I was a reader for Heinemann educational books in Ibadan, and so I picked up a lot of interest in writing books. And I had hoped that if I returned, I would set up a book publishing company, but it didn’t work out that way.”

After retirement from Newswatch, he kept a column in The Guardian newspaper, which underlined the relevance of his voice. Notably, in 2021, the League of Nigerian Columnists (LNC) awarded him the highest honour for a columnist in Nigeria—the LNC Fellowship.

In a post-humous tribute, the LNC said Agbese’s legacy “teaches us the enduring value of responsible writing, intellectual honesty, and a commitment to serving the public good. At a time when public discourse is increasingly polarised and sensationalised, his example reminds us of the dignity that should accompany the written word.”

He will be remembered as an enthusiastic logophile who promoted stylistic beauty in the communication of truth.
November 21, 2025
Secure the border posts
- To win the war against terror, the territory must be protected
The decision by the House of Representatives to launch a probe into how effective our border security architecture is, is quite welcome. Since the incursion of terrorists and insurgents into Nigeria in 2009, it has worried many how easily the criminals have moved in armaments that have thus compromised the country’s security.

We look forward to the ad hoc committee doing a thorough job. We want to know the number of men and quantum of materials available to them in manning the border posts and how much of the budget is released annually. Why would anyone be surprised that things are so bad in the country when only 84 of about 2,000 border posts are said to be manned?

Here, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is key in controlling the entry into, and exit of persons from the country, and management of the border posts. But we do not see how this can be done effectively in the given circumstances. It is when this is effective that we can now make the job easier for the military.

While we await the outcome of the House of Representatives’ probe, we still need to urge the military to do more. We cannot afford to seem helpless when our schools are randomly violated, even when intelligence had indicated that the agents of terror were about to strike, and where. The roads are not safe and the internally displaced persons camps remain filled to the brim. All these are linked to the influx of terrorists from the Sahel.

It is impossible to have enough men to deploy to the posts. In the 21st Century, what is expected is the use of technology to monitor them. Satellites are used by most countries, while drones, too, are deployed for both surveillance and in fighting the battle.

The battle had dragged on for too long. Inability of a well-trained military to crush a ragtag security force is unacceptable. It is inconceivable that our officers and men would mostly wait to be attacked before responding. We have to go to the root, at the point where they infiltrate the country, to rout out the enemy.

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It is also important that the officers are well motivated to fight the battle; otherwise, they could compromise to the detriment of the country. At some point when it appeared that the country was losing territory to the insurgents under the Jonathan administration, mercenaries were brought in from South Africa to complement the efforts of the military whose primary duty is to ward off external aggression.

It was so bad that the Attahiru Jega Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had to shift the 2011 general elections by three months. The mercenaries helped in ensuring that the enemies were swept off before the new date.

This might have informed the suggestion by some senators that at least 1,000 new officers and men be recruited into the security forces. But, the question is whether the training institutions can accommodate such recruitment. Already, the Tinubu administration has pledged to refurbish the training institutions.

The Donald Trump threat has further made fighting and winning the war more urgent. This would necessitate mobilising communities around the borders to work with the government and military. All politicians, whether in government or opposition, should realise that it is in their enlightened self-interest to get involved in the task of getting the people fully involved in fighting the battle, directly or otherwise.

It is unacceptable for Nigeria to be mentioned in the company of Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. The future must be secured now, and it starts from ensuring that the defined territory of the country is well secured.
November 21, 2025
Sustained onslaughts

•We commend the military for its efforts to incapacitate terrorists and sundry criminals

With Nigeria’s war against assorted forms of criminality, including extremist Islamic terrorism, banditry and herdsmen versus farmers clashes continuing for a decade and a half now, it is only natural for many citizens to be pessimistic about the prospects of bringing the conflict to a decisive end and restoring normalcy across the country.

Yet, there are often flashes of intense onslaughts against the enemies of the state by the Nigerian military which indicate the professional dexterity and offensive capacity of the armed forces to contain insurgent elements and maintain the territorial integrity, cohesion and stability of the country once the requisite will is summoned.

Some examples of such commendable, potent actions against the forces of terrorism occurred on November 9 and 10, when soldiers of the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) struck with lethal efficacy in coordinated, intelligence-driven attacks, resulting in the killing of hundreds of Islamic terrorists and bandits across Borno, Katsina and Kwara states.

In the Lake Chad area of Borno State, a hotbed of Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgency, the terrorists were neutralised in large numbers as they gathered for another destructive operation against innocent citizens.

According to spokesperson of the NAF, Air Commodore Ehime Ejodame, “Air assets conducted precision strikes Southeast of Dhuwaram before shifting to Malami Fatori, where ISWAP elements were observed mobilising with motorcycles and boats along the Lake Chad Basin.

The strikes destroyed insurgent hideouts, logistics hubs, and weapons storage facilities, eliminating several terrorists and crippling their mobility capabilities. Post-strike assessments confirmed multiple neutralisations and a significant degradation of ISWAP’s operational networks in the area”.

It is significant that while the air strikes in the Northeast were being executed, another operation was launched against terrorists in Garin Dandi and Chigogo bandit camps in Kwara State, with what the NAF described as “devastating accuracy”.

In a similar vein, NAF personnel and equipment under Operation FANSAN YAMMA also struck simultaneously at Zango Hill destroying a terrorist kingpin and his men in the Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State. The NAF stated that in demonstration of its sustained reach and precision, the Air Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA under Sector 1, carried out an Armed Reconnaissance Mission across Zamfara, Kebbi and Kaduna states in the Northwest.

The operation in the Northwest struck at settlements like Kakihum, Dankolo, Kotonkoro, and Kuyello, known to serve as routes and hideouts for bandits and other criminal groups along the Birnin Gwari- Funtua axis.

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“During the mission”, the NAF reported, “coordination with Forward Operating Bases at Dankolo and Kotonkoro revealed suspicious movement near Wam Hill, where terrorists on motorcycles were spotted attempting to flee. The aircrew swiftly engaged and neutralised the targets, with no further hostile activity observed”.

We commend the role played by efficient and effective deployment of intelligence in obtaining the requisite information on activities and movements of the terrorists, which greatly aided the success of the efforts to thwart their plans. Continued upgrading of the military’s intelligence gathering utilisation capabilities will be critical to future successes in the anti-terror war.

No less impressive is the scope of the NAF strikes against targets in diverse states simultaneously. This signals that the investment in re-equipping and modernising the military for greater efficacy against forces determined to destabilise and undermine the Nigerian State, through substantially enhanced funding, is yielding fruit.

The latest exploits of the NAF have been described as “one of the most decisive against bandits in the Northwest in recent times” and will definitely strike fear in the terrorists and bandits as they realise a new resolve on the part of the Nigerian military to protect the country’s territorial integrity and ruthlessly eliminate enemies of the state.

As encouraging and heartwarming as the commitment of the NAF is, what is most critical in the final analysis is integrated, properly coordinated operations by all the components of the military – ground forces, air force, navy and intelligence agencies – to wage and win the war against all forms of insurgency within the shortest timeframe possible.

November 20, 2025
Enforcement is the issue

•Ban on sachet alcohol and single-use plastics must be enforced for effective result

In what appears as taking action on the 2024 proposal for the ban on single-use plastics and sachet alcohol, the Federal Government has inaugurated a committee to push the policy. The inter-ministerial committee on the Ban of Single-use Plastics (SUPs) has been inaugurated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, following its approval by by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

We commend this move by the government, given the global clamour for environmental safety standards. Researchers and environmental scientists have been documenting the effects of the SUPs on our world, both land and sea. Many documentaries have shown the menace of poorly disposed plastics to marine life on a global scale, and the impact on the global community.

Indeed, many countries have taken various actions to manage this menace, so, Nigeria’s action, if well implemented, would be a plus to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For a country like Nigeria with her huge population, the production, sale and use of single-use plastics is so huge that its ban would make a significant impact in global terms.

We however believe that the success of the ban would depend on inter-ministerial contributions because the menace is a multi-ministerial contribution in the first place. This means that there must be a unique collaborative spirit if success is the goal.

On the other hand, the ban on sachet alcohol is not just a welcome development as much as it shows a deep understanding of the impact of such illicit and easily accessible alcohol to some of the most vulnerable demographics in the country.

Many countries with a deep understanding of the effects of illicit consumption of alcohol have and try to enforce legal age limits and, in some instances, the quantity that can be consumed. There are usually strictly registered vendor monitors, which make it easy to monitor those breaking the laws.

Drug and alcohol abuse have become huge global concerns for the danger both pose to populations, especially the young who are usually very vulnerable.

The existence of sachet alcohol in Nigeria has had very devastating effects on the youth population because they are being hawked on the streets, motor parks and in some extreme cases, in schools, even if in covert ways, by some mischievous small shop owners that pretend as grocery sellers.

The rise in crime and insecurity around the country cannot be possible without the easily accessible twin-evils of illicit drugs and alcohol.

It is pathetic that factories owned by adults and who ought to understand the bad effects of making alcohol accessible through sachets to minors do not foresee the adverse impact of their trade. It is therefore the business of government to make and implement policies that can control the system of distribution of alcohol to the population.

We hope the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control’s (NAFDAC) reaffirmation of its efforts and commitment to enforce the total ban on the production and sale of sachet alcohol beverages can be realised. This is because the incidence of fake and adulterated food and drugs is still a menace.

The effects on the health and well-being of Nigerians are seen in the number of people in hospitals or on the streets. Many Nigerians are suffering organ failures and most are traceable to the consumption of these dangerous items.

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The availability of alcohol beverages in sachets has caused untold health issues not just for minors but for adults as well. At some points, there have been visual reports of these illicit alcohol being sold to law enforcement agents around their offices and in some extreme cases, some policemen caught patronising the sellers while on duty.

This is not just a serious aberration in law enforcement ethics but there have been recorded cases of these alcohol beverage consumption impairing the sense of judgement of these officers. There have even been cases of some officers passing out and losing their arms to criminals.

Nigerians are very eager to see these two issues taken care of in holistic terms. Let it not just be like other policies that die with the ink used in drafting them. There must be a total commitment by both the government and the people to support the total ban on the SUPs and the alcohol in sachets across the country because the impact of both is in the present and in the future. The country would be better in the long run but action must meet words.

November 20, 2025
Abuse of police protection

•We wonder why many IGPs’ orders to withdraw the too many policemen attached to big guns have failed

It is widely known that Nigeria is seriously underpoliced, which is a critical factor undermining security across the country. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has an estimated strength of 371,800 officers, serving a population put at 236.7 million people in 2024.

According to a November 2025 report published by the European Union Agency for Asylum, “more than 100,000 police officers were assigned to the protection of politicians and VIPs, rather than to tasks serving the general population,” thus compounding insecurity.

The report said: “This shortage in manpower, as well as corruption and insufficient resources, has resulted in delayed responses to crimes and numerous communities being left without protection.”

The continued deployment of a disproportionate number of police officers to politicians and VIPs across the country has long been an issue of public concern.

Indeed, at different times in the past, the police leadership had issued directives aimed at redressing the situation. For instance, in June 2023, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, ordered the withdrawal of mobile police officers attached to VIPs. He issued a similar directive in April 2025. He reasoned that they should be reserved strictly for strategic national operations.

The latest report by the European Union Agency for Asylum indicates that such directives have been ineffective as it shows that a significant portion of police manpower continues to be used for VIP protection.

Notably, in August, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit, Hadiza Bala-Usman, observed that “VIPs arrive somewhere with so many policemen trailing them, while the areas that actually need security are left unattended.”

She argued that VIPs who need special protection “should go and hire a private security company with the necessary documentation,” and called for a review of the Police Act to enable private security to take up “some of the work we are forcing our security agencies to do.”

It is significant that Bala-Usman added that she had put the need to amend the Act “among the deliverables that we need to track.” We expect the authorities to pursue the proposed amendment towards ensuring that police personnel are not used indiscriminately for so-called VIP protection.

There is no doubt that the country needs to increase its police personnel, particularly in the context of a complicated security crisis compounded by a critical shortage in manpower.

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As a solution to the manpower problem, in August 2023, Egbetokun, who was then acting IGP, said the NPF “requires an additional 190,000 personnel to be at par with the United Nations (UN) recommendation,” adding that inadequate manpower had resulted in “low police presence.” Nigeria has a ratio of one police officer to about 600 citizens. The UN-recommended ratio is one police officer to about 450 citizens.

Also, in November 2023, after he became the substantive IGP, he was reported saying he had got the approval of President Tinubu “to recruit 30,000 for the next four years.” According to him, “I know that once we give effect to this approval, the issue of manpower will be a thing of the past.”

What is the situation concerning the mentioned approval now? The process has been highly publicised, but the full 30,000 has not yet been recruited; it is a multi-year plan. It should be implemented with a sense of urgency.

Importantly, the creation of state police is looking increasingly attractive to political leaders across the country as the federal and state governments have agreed to pursue this and House of Assembly speakers in the 36 states announced their support for the state police proposal. The establishment of state police should change the reality of under-policing in the country.

However, while the pursuit of state police continues, the federal manpower must be increased and the authorities must ensure they are not used indiscriminately for so-called VIP protection.

November 19, 2025
The way to go

•Moving PPI from two to three phases will help boost transmission and stable power supply

Power supply revolves around three major components of generation, transmission and distribution. The combined power generation in the country is about 15,000MW, out of which about 10,000MW is stranded. That is, it is available but not connected to the national grid.

But it is in the areas of particularly transmission and distribution that the country has major challenges.

This is the context in which President Bola Tinubu’s directive that major transformer substations under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) be expanded from two to three phases, to boost national transmission capacity, should be appreciated.

The President gave the directive when he met with a delegation from Siemens Energy at the State House, Abuja, last week. Siemens Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, Dietmar Siersdorfer, led the team.

As the president noted, power supply is pivotal to virtually all aspects of human life.

”Our education, our healthcare, and our transportation all depend on energy, and without power, it is an impossible objective. We are taking it very seriously,” President Tinubu said.

He added, and rightly too, that “There is no industrial growth or economic development without power. I believe that power is the most significant discovery of humanity in the last 1,000 years”.

These points would seem lost to several past administrations in the country that neglected the transmission and distribution infrastructure to the point that they are now aged and obsolete, and hence, cannot carry much load today, even when the power to wheel is available.

The three-phased PPI is the special purpose vehicle (SPV) being implemented under the FGN Power Company (FGNPC), with Siemens Energy as the technical partner. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost Euro 2.3 billion.

It is heartwarming that the Tinubu government has seen the need to prioritise revamping the transmission and distribution lines.

There is no doubt that Nigeria needs more than its current 15,000MW for any meaningful development to take place in the country. South Africa’s total installed power generation capacity is over 48,000 MW.

But, in a situation where even the extremely low 15,000MW that is presently generated cannot get to the consumers, we do not need any expert to tell us that it is high time more attention was focused on transmission and distribution of power.

It is gratifying that investments worth more than $2.2bn had been made in the power sector as a result of the PPI, with the activation of 15 state electricity markets.

Indeed, the entrance of state electricity markets in the sector is a veritable game changer. This reform, started by the immediate past Muhammadu Buhari administration, has been further deepened by the incumbent Federal Government. Although there are teething problems; especially concerning how the old and new systems will cohabit peacefully, this should be expected. With time, things will take shape.

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Federalisation of power is the way to go. If we continue along the former trajectory, without rejigging the power architecture, the country would continue to move in circles without solution to the power crisis.

We are happy with the successes so far recorded since the Accelerated Agreement was signed at COP28 in Dubai in December 2023. These include the delivery and commissioning of 10 units of 132/33kV mobile substations, three units of 75/100MVA transformers, and seven units of 60/66MVA transformers nationwide.

Some of these installations have added to our transmission capacity, resulting in improved stability and reliability.

That the PPI package has come with a training centre to expand local capacity in electrical engineering, create jobs, enhance local content, and deepen technology transfer makes it the more attractive.

Indeed, we cannot wait to see the thousands of local jobs that Siersdorfer said would be created through procurement, services, accommodation, and transportation as a result of the ongoing works, to reduce the growing number of jobless youths in the country.

We urge President Tinubu to honour his pledge to provide the resources required to accelerate this much-needed PPI.

November 19, 2025
NNPCL’s hide-and-seek
- NASS should invite the company’s managers at the time covered by its probe to explain the N210trn unaccounted for
Nigerians must find it extremely disturbing that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) continues to stall on the issue of N210trillion said to be unaccounted for, which the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation had sought answers vide 19 queries in its financial reports covering 2017 to 2023.

Tuesday last week, the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly waited in vain for the NNPCL to show up – despite the fact that the company proposed the date of its appearance before the committee, perhaps convinced that its written submission to the committee would suffice.

To this, an incensed committee chairman, Senator Aliyu Wadada, not only accused the management of the company of failing to satisfactorily address the audit queries, but warned that the committee would no longer entertain any proxy representations from it.

The NNPCL’s written defence, according to him, only deepened the committee’s concerns as it raised “serious red flags” about the company’s financial operations. Top among their concerns is NNPCL’s claim to have incurred N103 trillion in accrued expenses and N107 trillion in receivables, totalling N210 trillion within six years.

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To him: “NNPCL’s explanation on N107 trillion receivables, equivalent to about $117 billion, contradicts their own documents. These figures are unrealistic and cannot stand. The committee, therefore, rejects them”.

Again, he queried how NNPCL could claim to have paid N103 trillion in cash calls to joint venture partners in 2023 alone when its total crude oil revenue between 2017 and 2022 was only N24 trillion.

And yet another puzzle: “Cash call arrangements were abolished in 2016. How then could NNPCL pay N103 trillion in one year when its revenue for five years was only N24 trillion? Where did that money come from?

“As far as this committee is concerned, that figure is unjustifiable and must be returned to the treasury,” he said.

Finally is the company’s claim that part of the N107 trillion receivables was held in “defunct banks”. The NNPCL, he said, failed to name any of the banks or provide evidence of the funds.

“This lack of transparency is unacceptable. By our records, NNPCL must account for N210 trillion. If the current management cannot explain, we will invite former GMDs and top NAPIMS officials to do so,” he warned.

Beyond merely stating the obvious that the failure of the company’s management to show up in parliament on the day of its own choosing does not convey the impression of responsibility on its part, particularly one that has nothing to hide; we daresay that the issues highlighted should ordinarily be deemed as concerning enough to warrant serious attention by the management of the company.

The least expected of the NNPCL in the circumstance is to work out another suitable date for appearance within the shortest possible time.

Particularly noteworthy however are the issues highlighted by the committee said to have been borne out of the company’s earlier presentation. While the issues highlighted predate the current helmsmen at the national oil company, they are such that demand answers and very urgently too.

Surely, if the issue is that the current helmsmen have no further comment beyond which is already contained in their written submission; in other words, that the additional clarification sought was best directed to those who ran the corporation during the period covered by the report, the case could still have been better made before the committee so it could take appropriate steps to summon those involved.

Even in this, the least the NNPCL could do is to offer the committee every assistance to get at the root of what is increasingly looking more like a corporate heist of all time.
November 18, 2025
Contractors’ protest
- President’s directive saved the day, but systematised contract payment better
A directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that government contractors be immediately paid averted misgivings in the National Assembly (NASS) that threatened to boil over into an institutional crisis. The move reportedly calmed frayed nerves of legislators and restored harmony to executive-legislature ties.

Tension had brewed among lawmakers over delayed release of funds for 2024 and 2025 capital projects and government’s failure to pay indigenous contractors for projects that were already completed. The situation reached a boiling point penultimate week when contractors on the platform of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN) stormed the NASS complex in Abuja to demand payment of contract sums owed by government.

The protesting contractors blocked the main entrance to the assembly complex and obstructed vehicular movement. They claimed to have executed several 2024 projects without being paid, and accused the Federal Government of neglect, threatening total shutdown of project sites nationwide if ignored.

Inside the House of Representatives, the tension mirrored the chaos outside. Frustrated by what they perceived as government’s nonchalant attitude toward budget implementation, lawmakers initially resolved to suspend plenary for seven days to show their displeasure, raising fears of breakdown in cordial ties between the executive and the legislative arms.

But following high-level consultations, the house reconsidered its suspension of plenary and reconvened after receiving what leaders described as “positive signals” from the presidency.

When plenary resumed, the house went into a closed-door session that lasted several hours, during which tempers reportedly flared as members expressed strong displeasure over lingering delay by government in funding capital projects. The non-release of the capital components of the 2024 and 2025 budgets, according to reports, angered the lawmakers who said they were unable to fund their constituency projects amid mounting pressure from constituents.

Deputy spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, told journalists in Abuja that the house leadership, under Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, took steps to engage the presidency and reassure restive lawmakers. Upon that engagement, President Tinubu directed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, to commence immediate payment to the contractors.

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“The frustration expressed by some of our colleagues was genuine. Many projects across the country, especially constituency projects, were stalled due to the non-release of funds,” the legislative spokesman said. “This also affected indigenous contractors who had executed 2024 capital projects but were yet to be paid.

“The contractors’ protest was an unfortunate reflection of the economic pressure they were under. Some lamented that the non-payment had forced them to sell their properties or shut down their businesses,” he explained.

Agbese noted that the delay in capital project funding was not solely the fault of the Tinubu administration, but a result of unfulfilled obligations from previous fiscal years. “The truth is, this administration inherited uncompleted projects and past budget obligations that needed to be implemented at all cost. So, the delay cannot be attributed to President Tinubu. On the contrary, his swift response demonstrated his commitment to good governance and fiscal responsibility,” he said.

We join the legislative spokesman to laud the presidential intervention that saved the day and doused tempers – both among legislators and contractors who had taken to protest measures to push their case. The concern of the lawmakers was perhaps because many of the projects affected are constituency projects under their purview, and that may be why the contractors protested at the NASS complex and not elsewhere.

In other words, there’s a way in which dysfunctional budget execution hazards cordial relations between the different arms of government.

Our view is that it is important to get the processes of capital projects execution and payment to contractors systematised so that it would not always have to reach a crisis point where ad hoc intervention by Mr. President is necessitated.

Some of the contractors took commercial loans to execute the projects in the hope of defraying the loans upon being paid. Contract deals should detail all terms involved and efforts be made by all parties to abide by those terms. The health of players in the economy is the health of the economy.
November 18, 2025
Uncomfortable truth

•Nigeria must scale up its safety nets for the poorest and most vulnerable

No one should get self-crippled by World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports. Their one-shoe-fits-all data-gathering assures predictable gloom and doom. Their condescending interpretation of data arms them to talk down on struggling economies.

Nor should we lose too much sleep over the local adversarial media. They too exhibit near-zero zest for news, except it is dark, foreboding, tragic and sensational. That gifts them a messianic complex that plays down the good but embellishes the bad.

Both are extremes that make day-to-day governance challenges appear way far worse than they really are. That fashionable hugging of hopelessness is a lose-lose for us all.

Still, the latest World Bank report, released this November, on the impact of Nigeria’s safety net programmes on the very poor, must concern the Federal Government. The especial worry must be the claim that the impact of poverty-support programmes, on the target population, may have regressed from 20% (one out of every five), to 6% (six out of every hundred)!

If the government’s reform agenda is imperative to fend off a future catastrophe, (but the government is the first to admit these harsh social surgeries come with pains), then this sharp regression in the welfare of the poorest segment of the population must worry everyone — not least the government that faces a crucial election in less than two years.

Fortunately, the World Bak report also suggests ways these programmes can be tweaked to achieve a far better impact, and slash the level of poverty.

In fairness, the Federal Government has not been shy on its digital cash-grant scheme, under its conditional cash transfer (CCT) poverty-attack policy. Wale Edun, the Finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, just revealed that 8.5 million poor households have received a tranche of their N25, 000 payment, while another 6.5 million await their turn.

The payment to that 6.5 million would meet the government’s target of reaching 15 million households, which when met, would be praise-worthy. But the snag, according to the World Bank report’s observation, is that 15 million households hardly equate 15 million people or individuals.

True, to equate CCT to a household to CCT to every individual in there might be unrealistic: some are adults, some also minors. But there is nothing wrong in re-examining data-gathering to ensure that the CCT reaches more people, in each household. Indeed, a N25, 000 CCT to a family of 10; and the same flat transfer to another family of five clearly shows the second family is better off. Yes, both face similar economic privations.

That would appear behind the World Bank’s claim that 56 per cent CCT payment only reach 44 per cent of that demographic. That means a fixed amount to every household, no matter the difference in numbers, is too rigid. The government should make it more flexible, so that it can reach far more poor people that need urgent support.

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The second safety net the report referenced is the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP). Its impact is reportedly stronger, because it targets individual children, not a group to share a fixed stock of food. That is good. But again, the drawback is: free school feeding only targets pupils in the first three years. Besides, due to varied reasons, it’s not fully implemented in every state of the country.

Another detail the report did not touch is whether NHGSFP is being implemented with its pristine goal in mind. It is “home-grown” precisely because the foodstuff — to feed pupils from poor homes — were to be bought from their poor farmer parents: of crops, livestock or poultry.

This double reinforcement for the most economically vulnerable — feeding poor pupils from the empowerment of their poor parents — was pure genius. If well implemented, it should positively impact poverty, and give dignity to the poorer folks. So, the government should vigorously cross-check; and ensure this part of the deal is fulfilled.

Beyond policy details, however, what this report screams is the imperative to expand these safety nets. For many, it could well be the difference between life and death.

But the dirt poor are even a worrying metaphor for the rest, and that should alarm the government enough. By the numbers, the economic fundamentals are changing. But the big question is: when will it all trickle down? That’s the elephant in the room the government must face — and solve. It’s perilously close to the next general election.

November 17, 2025