Protesters on Tuesday, stormed the National Assembly, urging the Senate to expedite the confirmation of President Bola Tinubu’s nominee for Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Abdullahi Ramat.
The protesters, made up of Ramat’s supporters, civil society organizations, and human rights activists, paraded around the parliamentary complex, chanting solidarity songs and holding placards with various inscriptions such as “President Tinubu Did Not Send Nominees to be Harassed” and “Ramat Represents Reform in the Power Sector.”
Their protest came in response to last month’s Senate decision to halt Ramat’s confirmation, even after he had been successfully screened by the Senate Committee on Power, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.
Addressing journalists, the leader of the protest and spokesperson for the Grassroots Initiative Concept, Ahmed Suleiman, said they had petitioned both President Tinubu and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, alleging that “certain vested interests” were attempting to block the appointment for political reasons.
“We write as proud indigenes of Kano State, just like the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, to reaffirm our commitment to peace and good governance,” Suleiman stated.
“It is surprising and deeply unsettling that Engr. Ramat’s confirmation was stepped down despite his qualifications and the positive recommendation of the screening committee.
“We have since learned that some vested interests are pushing false narratives to discredit him,” he alleged.
The group warned that allowing political interference to override merit would set a “dangerous precedent” where capable Nigerians are denied key national positions due to personal grudges and power struggles.
They urged the Senate leadership not to “yield to blackmail or manipulation,” insisting that confirming Ramat would serve the national interest and support the Tinubu administration’s reforms in the power sector.
The recent protest follows just four days after the Senate warned of legal action against former presidential aide Alwan Hassan, who claimed that lawmakers received a $10 million bribe to prevent Ramat’s confirmation.
Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, dismissed the bribery allegations as “baseless and reckless,” saying the nominee’s confirmation was stepped down following “public and private complaints” regarding his suitability.
“Many nominees have been stepped down due to public outcry. Mr Ramat’s case is not an exception,” Adaramodu said.
The Senate has vowed to compel Hassan to substantiate his allegations in court, insisting it would not confirm any nominee “under a cloud of public concern.”
Ramat’s nomination remains on hold pending further legislative review, as Nigerians continue to express frustration over high electricity tariffs and persistent poor power supply across the country.
Lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, convicted leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Aloy Ejimakor, has said Ndigbo will “never move on” from the injustices suffered after the Nigerian Civil War, particularly the confiscation of properties and the £20 compensation policy.
Ejimakor made the statement in a post on X on Saturday, where he argued that many people wrongly believe the Igbo have forgotten the humiliation and injustice experienced after the war.
“It seems to me that some people believe that Ndigbo have moved on from the humiliation & injustice of confiscating their properties & handing them a mere £20 at the end of the Civil War. Well, hear this: Ndigbo will NEVER move on until these injustices (plus more) are redressed,” he wrote.
The lawyer did not specify what additional grievances he was referring to, but his comments come amid renewed debates over historical injustices, reconciliation, and the treatment of the South-East region since the end of the Civil War in 1970.
It was reports that after the war, many Igbo people who had bank deposits before the conflict were reportedly given a flat sum of £20 regardless of the amount previously held in their accounts, a policy that has remained a subject of controversy for decades.
Ejimakor is one of the lead lawyers representing Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, who was recently convicted on terrorism-related charges brought by the Federal Government.
Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has called on the Federal Government to release detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
Speaking to his congregation in a video sighted by DAILY POST, Primate Ayodele said if the Nigerian Government continues to keep Nnamdi Kanu, it should also arrest Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.
He said, “The Nigerian government should release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Since you keep Kanu in prison, why can’t you keep Sheikh Gumi in prison too?
“You keep Nnamdi Kanu but Gumi is free. Then, how do you want to now manage the government.
“If Nnamdi Kanu is there, then go and take Gumi. Then Nigerians will believe that the government is serious. Protest will seize this Tinubu government,” he warned.
United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres on Friday announced the appointment of Ahunna Eziakonwa of Nigeria as Special Adviser on Africa.
She succeeds Cristina Duarte of the Republic of Cabo Verde, to whom the Secretary General is grateful for her commitment and dedicated service to the Organisation.
Eziakonwa brings nearly three decades of United Nations (UN) leadership to her new role.
In her current role as UN Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she oversees the organisation’s support to 46 African countries in pursuing Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Since 2018, she has helped shape UNDP’s strategic approach to economic and political development across the continent.
Eziakonwa’s experience spans the full breadth of UN work in Africa.
She has served as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in three countries – Ethiopia, Uganda and Lesotho – where she coordinated humanitarian action, development strategy and political engagement.
As Chief of the Africa Section at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in New York, she managed humanitarian operations across 15 African countries and held senior posts in Liberia and Sierra Leone during critical periods in those nations.
At UN Headquarters, she contributed to peacekeeping and political analysis and strategic communications pertaining to UN engagement in Africa, working with the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations, Political Affairs and Public Information.
Prior to joining the UN, she held positions in several African civil society organisations.
Eziakonwa holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs with a focus on African economic and political development from Columbia University, New York, USA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Pedagogy, English and Literary Studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria.
In addition to her native Igbo and English, she speaks fluent Yoruba and has a working knowledge of French.