Author: GANUX

Former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, has reacted to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s statement that he would step aside from the 2027 presidential race if a younger aspirant defeats him in the African Democratic Congress primaries.

PUNCH Online earlier reported that Atiku, in an interview with BBC Hausa, stated that he would withdraw from the race and support a younger candidate if he was defeated in the ADC primaries.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party added that he would support and mentor such a flagbearer.

“If I run for office, and a young man defeats me, I will accept that. The party we have joined now prioritises youth and women,” Atiku had said.

The former presidential candidate, however, could not confirm whether he would contest the presidency again.

“This is only the beginning. Our priority is to establish the party and gain a strong following,” Atiku said.

Sani, in a post via his official X handle on Thursday, said it would be extremely difficult to defeat the former vice president in a party primary.

He wrote, “His Excellency the Waziri reportedly said he would step aside if a younger candidate wins the primaries… The keyword here is PRIMARIES… It’s easier for a camel to pass through the hole of a needle than to beat the Waziri in primaries. Party delegates are a special breed of people.”

The Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour Nigeria has commended the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for rescuing 24 victims of human trafficking and apprehending five suspected traffickers in Abuja.

The commendation was contained in a statement signed by NACTAL National President, Mr Abdulganiyu Abubakar, and made available to journalists on Thursday in Sokoto.

Established in 2005, NACTAL is a coalition of over 150 NGOs working to protect children and vulnerable persons from exploitation.

Civil society groups such as NACTAL play a critical role in supporting NAPTIP’s mandate.

Abubakar described the rescue as a demonstration of NAPTIP’s professionalism and commitment to the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria.

He stressed that trafficking, abuse, and exploitation are grave crimes that strip victims of their dignity and fundamental rights.

“NACTAL seizes this opportunity to commend NAPTIP’s effectiveness in the operation that secured the freedom of 24 victims and the arrest of five suspected traffickers,” the statement partly read.

The NACTAL president, however, called on the agency to expedite prosecution processes to ensure justice for survivors. He cited the case of Bashariya, a victim allegedly trafficked, abused, and exploited in Sokoto State, stressing that swift trials would not only deter offenders but also reassure survivors of justice.

While pledging NACTAL’s continued collaboration with NAPTIP, Abubakar reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to working with government institutions, civil society groups, regional bodies, and international partners to strengthen prevention, protection, and prosecution mechanisms in the anti-trafficking fight.

He further noted that NACTAL serves as Nigeria’s representative within the West African Coalition Against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling, emphasising the group’s resolve to sustain cross-border collaboration in tackling the menace.

Nigeria remains a trafficking hotspot in West Africa, with victims often recruited for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced labour, and cross-border smuggling.

According to NAPTIP’s 2023 report, over 2,000 victims of human trafficking were rescued across the country, with many intercepted en route to Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

In June 2024, PUNCH Online reported that NAPTIP rescued 34 victims, mostly young women, from traffickers in Lagos, while in April 2024, the agency secured the conviction of three traffickers in Abuja. The agency has consistently highlighted trafficking routes through Edo, Delta, Kano, Sokoto, and Ogun States, describing them as high-risk corridors.

The organisation has collaborated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Organisation for Migration, and the ECOWAS Commission on regional anti-trafficking campaigns.

By commending NAPTIP’s recent rescue operation, NACTAL stressed that sustained collaboration and timely prosecution would be vital to consolidating gains and protecting vulnerable Nigerians from traffickers.

President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to commission the $400m Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers State on October 8, the first new crude export facility to be built in Nigeria in over 50 years.

The facility, developed by Green Energy International Limited, operators of the Otakikpo field in OML 11, Ikuru town, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, is the first wholly indigenous onshore terminal built in Nigeria. The last such facility, the Forcados Terminal, was commissioned in 1971.

The inauguration is expected to attract top government officials, including the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and key stakeholders across the oil and gas sector.

According to a statement signed by GEIL’s Executive Director of Legal and Corporate Services, Olusegun Ilori, on Thursday, the terminal aligns with President Tinubu’s drive to boost crude oil production and address Nigeria’s long-standing evacuation challenges.

“This project is a strategic infrastructure that supports the administration’s commitment to raising output while reducing costs,” Ilori said.

Industry operators have consistently highlighted evacuation bottlenecks as a major obstacle to meeting the Federal Government’s production target of three million barrels per day.

The Otakikpo terminal is expected to serve as a lifeline to more than 40 stranded oil fields by providing a reliable evacuation outlet, potentially unlocking millions of barrels of crude previously trapped underground.

With an initial storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, expandable to three million barrels, and a loading capacity of 360,000 barrels per day, the facility is also projected to reduce production costs for indigenous producers significantly.

Chairman and Chief Executive of GEIL, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe, described the terminal as a “game-changing national infrastructure.”

“What we have achieved here is not just a storage solution, but a pathway for about 40 stranded oil fields to finally contribute to the economy,” Adegbulugbe said.

The commissioning underscores the Federal Government’s renewed efforts to restore investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil sector, which has struggled with declining production, pipeline vandalism, oil theft, and rising operational costs in recent years.