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Banditry: El Rufai Goes Tough On Herdsmen, Bans Inter-state Cattle Movement

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The Kaduna State Government says it has banned the transportation of livestock to other states.

Samuel Aruwan, State Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

He said, “After wide consultations and series of thorough security reviews, the Kaduna State Government has banned the transportation of livestock from the state to other states in the country.”

He said the ban also prohibited the transportation of livestock into Kaduna State from other states, saying both bans took immediate effect.

According to him, the government also wishes to reiterate that the transportation of donkeys into the state is a criminal offence and anyone found engaging in this will be prosecuted accordingly.

He said the Kawo weekly market, which usually holds every Tuesday in Kaduna North LGA, has been suspended with immediate effect.

“The Government of Kaduna State wishes to highlight that the previous directives suspending weekly markets, and selling of petrol in jerrycans in Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Chikun, Igabi and Kajuru LGAs, as well as banning the felling of trees for timber, firewood and charcoal and other commercial purposes in Birnin Gwari, Kachia, Kajuru, Giwa, Chikun, Igabi and Kauru LGAs, are still in force,” the statement added.

“Citizens are hereby informed that all these directives will be vigorously enforced by security agencies.”

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Power Sector Reforms Will Lead To Sustainability, Says Adelabu

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The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to setting the power sector on the path of sustainability and bankability, by prioritising the different reforms being undertaken in the sector. This is critical to the economic growth and development of the nation.

The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu disclosed this on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at the Mission 300 Stakeholders Engagement meeting, held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, where he announced that the estimated investment required for the Mission 300 Compact is $32.8 billion, with $15.5 billion expected from the private sector. The Mission is to provide electricity to 300million unserved people in Africa.



He said the stakeholders meeting would provide an opportunity for them to align, strategize, and to build the partnerships needed to move from Nigeria Energy Compact, to concrete results, as he called on development partners, the private sector, philanthropic actors, the public sector, and the civil society organizations to rally around this mission.

“Mobilizing this level of financing will demand innovation, coordination, and a shared commitment.

“In this room today are many of the institutions and individuals who can help us shape the future of Nigeria’s energy sector. Let us take this opportunity to ask hard questions, identify the practical solutions, and develop actionable plans that will make universal access a reality not just in the policy space, but in the daily lives of our citizens by powering our hospitals, our schools, our industries, and our homes”, Adelabu said.



He announced the priorities of the government in power sector reforms to include “adressing the market liquidity issues and initiating required sector reforms”.

“Currently”, he added, “there’s a huge outstanding debt to the Power Generation companies in the form of unpaid government subsidies which stands at about ₦4trn as of December 2024. The Federal Government is already working out modalities to defray this obligation and to ensure that further obligations are not accrued going forward, the government is working on a plan to transition the sector to a fully cost-reflective regime while implementing targeted subsidies for the economically vulnerable citizens in the country.

“Improving our power generation through recovery of idle capacities and expanding energy mix to ensure energy security, and to dilute the power pool with cheaper and cleaner energy sources”.

Other areas he identified included “Expanding transmission infrastructure to deliver more power, ensuring stability of the national grid to put and end to several grid disturbances and collapses previously observed on the grid, and to further strengthen the coordination and management of the national grid.

“Ensuring viability and performance improvement of the distribution segment of the power sector through strategic programs like the Presidential Metering Initiative and the World Bank-funded Distribution Sector Recovery Program (DISREP)”.



The Minister also said that the Power Ministry is pursuing increased renewable energy through its rural electrification and energy transition drive, to provide a reliable power supply to unserved and underserved communities.

Through its training institute, the Ministry is also working to improve human capital and local content development in the sector to reduce import dependence, stimulate jobs, and build a homegrown energy industry.

“I assure you”, he continued “that the Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is fully committed to this vision and through the Federal Ministry of Power, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, we will continue to champion reforms, promote innovation, and partner with all stakeholders to deliver a sustainable energy future”.

He expressed the appreciation of the Federal Government to the World Bank Group under the leadership of Mr Ajay Banga and the African Development Bank under the leadership of the out going Managing Director of the Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), and Sustainable Energy for All for taking on this mission to connect 300 million people across Africa to electricity by the year 2030 through the Mission 300 initiative, saying, “this ambition reflects our shared belief that energy access is a fundamental issue that must be urgently addressed to unlock economic potential of the continent”.

According to Adelabu, in January 2025 at the Dar es Salaam Africa Energy Summit, President Tinubu joined eleven other African Heads of State in endorsing the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration and formally committing to the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Mission 300.

“We presented our National Energy Compact, a bold statement of intent and ambition to fast-track access to both electricity and clean cooking for all Nigerians with the aim of achieving universal access by 2030 by increasing the rate of electricity access from 4 percent to 9 percent per annum and raising access to clean cooking from 22 percent to 25 percent per annum”, he said.

The Minister of Finance, Chief Wale Edun, who spoke through zoom from Brazil also said that the reforms the government was undertaking in the power sector were critical towards unlocking the full potentials of the economy as it would lead to job creation. He said the reforms have led to over 40 percent increase in power distribution in the first quarter of 2025.

Present at the meeting were the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Geoffrey Nnaji, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, the World Bank Officers, head of agencies in the Power Ministry, and partners of the sector.

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Senate Denies Snubbing Reps Bills, Says No Garbage In, Garbage Out

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The Senate has rejected allegations by the House of Representatives that it has been stalling legislative progress by delaying concurrence on bills passed by the lower chamber.

During the plenary on Tuesday, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, clarified the Senate’s position, underpinning that the upper chamber has been diligent in attending to bills forwarded by the House.

Responding to recent claims that the Senate had failed to act on over 140 House-passed bills, including several sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, the Senate leader disclosed that the Senate considered no fewer than six concurrence bills just last week.

The Senate President said, “We cannot joke with concurrence bills from the House of Representatives, we are committed to working together in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. It takes two hands to clap.”

This reaction by the Senate leadership followed a slight tension experienced at the House of Representatives last week when members of the green chamber resolved to suspend further consideration of bills originating from the Senate, citing what it described as persistent delays in legislative concurrence from the red chamber.

But Bamidele, while presenting one of the bills from the House during plenary on Tuesday, explained that the Senate has remained consistent in processing concurrence bills in line with constitutional responsibilities.

He said, “For the record, we have been doing what we are supposed to do. Only last week, the Senate concurred on six bills from the House of Representatives. We know we have the principle of reciprocity that governs our operations, but this does not necessarily mean garbage in, garbage out.

“We have the duty, as the foremost democratic institution in the country, to exercise due diligence on the bills. We will continue to consider concurrence bills from the House of Representatives in the same way they considered our bills. We will ensure that it is given attention in overriding public interest. I just want to say this for the record.”

The leadership assured the public that the Senate remained committed to a productive and cooperative relationship with the House of Representatives, underscoring that legislative harmony is essential for national progress.
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Gov Alia launches Quick Response Squad to tackle insecurity in Benue

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Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has unveiled a new security initiative tagged the Quick Response Squad (QRS), aimed at strengthening rapid response to security emergencies across the state.


Governor Alia was represented at the official inauguration of the squad by his Deputy, Dr Sam Ode.

The QRS is a joint operation comprising personnel from the Civilian Protection Guard (CPG), Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN), local hunters, and the Joint Task Force (JTF).


The squad is designed to respond swiftly and effectively to threats, particularly in vulnerable communities across Benue.
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