By Augustine Akhilomen

The National Peace Committee (NPC), spearheaded by former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar and co-convened by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, has issued a sharp and uncompromising warning to major political actors, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi, against the use of inflammatory and inciting language as the country builds toward the 2027 general elections.

In a joint statement released following a review of political conduct, the committee expressed deep concern over a worrying spike in hostility across the country, highlighting that political discourse is dangerously straying away from policy-based engagement.

The statement partly read:

“To political parties, candidates, and supporters: Immediately stop false, inflammatory or inciting communication. Uphold the commitments of the Accord, verify information before publication, and actively prevent supporters from engaging in unlawful conduct, intimidation, or disruption.

“As the 2027 electoral cycle progresses, the message of the NPC remains clear and unwavering. Every candidate must be able to campaign peacefully; every political party must be able to organise lawfully; and every citizen must be able to make a political choice without intimidation or coercion.

“To INEC, strengthen monitoring of political campaigns and ensure compliance with the Electoral Act 2026 and applicable regulations governing political parties and campaign conduct.

“Where breaches are identified, the commission should take appropriate regulatory action within its mandate and promptly refer suspected criminal violations to the relevant law-enforcement agencies.”

The panel flagged data compiled through its Election Security Information Hub, which recorded roughly 60 election-related incidents within a single month. These violations span political violence, intimidation, targeted threats against opponents, physical attacks on campaign activities, and a surge in deliberate misinformation.

Reminding all political camps of their previous pledges, the committee underscored that the National Peace Accord is a binding civic compact rather than an empty formality.

Beyond warning the political elite, the peace panel called on the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to ramp up prompt, impartial, and evidence-driven investigations into electoral offences to deter perpetrators.

As the 2027 race heats up amidst ongoing economic anxieties, the Abdulsalami panel’s intervention serves as a critical wake-up call for political gladiators to rein in toxic rhetoric before it destabilizes the democratic process.

The Presidency has cautioned Nigerians against denigrating President Bola Tinubu with baseless sovereign debt alarms.

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the President and his economic team were responsible leaders.

He was reacting to a post by @StatiSense listing Africa’s most indebted countries in 2026.

It posted: “Africa’s most indebted countries – 2026. Public debt as % of GDP.

“Sudan — 169.1%

“Senegal — 132.3%

“Mozambique — 106.1%

“Cabo Verde — 95.9%

“Republic of Congo — 91.3%

“Egypt — 87.0%

“Mauritius — 86.5%

“Gabon — 86.1%

“Tunisia — 84.9%

“South Africa — 78.9%

“Nigeria — 35.5%

“Several African economies carry public debt approaching or exceeding the size of their annual economic output.

“Sudan stands out at 169.1% of GDP, meaning its government debt is estimated at roughly 1.7 times the size of its economy. #Statisense (IMF).”

Reacting, Onanuga commended Tinubu and his economic team for the feat.

He posted on X: “Another stubborn fact for those whose stock in trade is to denigrate Nigeria and the Tinubu presidency and raise baseless alarms about our sovereign debt.

“Our country is not among Africa’s most indebted countries. Unlike the countries listed here, our debt burden is about 35 per cent of our GDP. Kudos to PBAT and the economic team for responsible leadership.”

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has expressed dismay over the kidnapping of graduates who were going for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

Twenty persons, armed with their call-up letters, took off from the Samonda area of Ibadan, Oyo State, on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, and were among those kidnapped at a spot near Umunoha in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State on Thursday.

Their buses were travelling from Ibadan towards Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and Bende, Abia State.

In a statement on Monday, the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, also sympathised with families of the victims and proffered ideas on how to put a stop to such incidents.

While condemning the incident in its entirety, Afenifere observed that the risk of being kidnapped would greatly reduce if one did not have to travel such a long distance for the purpose of youth service “given the prevailing situation in the country”.

Ajayi said Afenifere, since as far back as 2021, has been calling on the Federal Government to review the NYSC policy with a view to enabling corps members to serve in their respective states or areas of domicile.

“The idea here is to reduce the tendency by a prospective corper to travel from one part of the country to another for the purpose of having to serve the country under the NYSC policy,” the statement read in part.

“We have repeated this call several times especially whenever there are incidents of corpers being kidnapped or attacked in one way or the other. Some national newspapers have even written editorials endorsing our position.”

But the Afenifere spokesman added that “thankfully, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, in a statement on his X handle of Wednesday, July 1, 2026, announced that he has directed the Federal Ministries of Youth Development and Justice to begin the process of amending the NYSC Act and its subsidiary regulations to give legal backing to the reforms that were approved by the Federal Executive Council at its meeting on Monday, June 29, 2026.”

It urged those concerned to expedite actions on effecting necessary amendments to the NYSC Act so that corpers would be able to serve in their respective states or at least in neighbouring states within the same geopolitical zone.

The Yoruba apex organisation called on the NYSC to, “pending the necessary amendment of the corps’ Act, allow graduates to serve within their states of origin, states of residence or states within their geopolitical zones. Exigency or security imperative can be cited as the reason for this if anyone challenges the organisation for taking such a step.”

The body urged federal security agencies and the Oyo and Imo state governments to quicken actions on rescuing the victims within the shortest possible time.

It said, “The method used to rescue victims of Oriire abduction can be employed in a modified form in line with the peculiar situation.”

In a similar vein, Afenifere commended President Bola Tinubu for approving the creation of new Army formations in Zamfara, Kebbi, Oyo, and Osun states with a view to shortening the response period and bringing troops closer to vulnerable communities. These new formations are in addition to the four new army divisional headquarters announced in July by the Presidency.

“The four new divisional army headquarters raised such divisions in the country from eight to 12. The new headquarters and their locations as announced then were: 5 Division Headquarters: Located in Makurdi, Benue State; 9 Division Headquarters: Located in Ilorin, Kwara State; 10 Division Headquarters: Located in Jalingo, Taraba State; and 83 Division Headquarters: Located in Benin City, Edo State.

Afenifere was of the opinion that this increase in military bases would strengthen security surveillance and quicken responses to security emergencies.

“As for a lasting solution to kidnapping and banditry, Afenifere again advocated for the enforcement of the 2022 Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.

“The Act provides an appropriate legal framework for detecting, preventing, prohibiting, and punishing acts of terrorism, terrorist financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. “Strict enforcement of the Act will reduce the menace of terrorism to the barest minimum,” Afenifere said.