The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Barr. Pius Akutah, has said President Bola Tinubu was not given proper briefing about the killings in Benue State.

He said the President is determined to take steps to turn around the country for the better, as well as address the politics surrounding the recent security skirmishes that rocked Benue State.

Barr. Akutah disclosed this during a chat with journalists at his residence in Makurdi.

He urged the people of Benue to believe in and remain supportive of Mr. President in tackling the insecurity rocking the state.

Barr. Akutah said the speed with which Mr. President responded to the issue in Benue, and from his statement, shows that he was misbriefed.

He didn’t have the proper briefing, and that was the reason Nigerians were angered when he spoke about the killings in Benue.

“But immediately the governor gave an interview, people knew that, oh, this was the briefing Mr. President had. And this is why he said what he said. People saw where the problem was coming from.”

“So it’s very obvious that these are the issues, and Nigerians should just be very patient with Mr. President.”

He said it won’t be long before Nigerians see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“He is not the type that will just pay lip service to issues like this. He’s very firm, very honest, and sincere with the Nigerian people.

“He’s an accomplished man by all standards. All that he needs to do now, and all that he is doing, is to leave a legacy for this country.

“We have seen how he is building the economy, how he is deepening our democracy, how he is stretching hands of fellowship to many dissidents across the country, and ensuring that this country is blooming in a new economic order that will affect everyone.

“Over the years, people have talked about diversifying the economy of this Nigeria over and over and over.”

Barr. Akutah said successful leaders in the country were paying lip service to the enormous challenges facing the country until the President came on board.

“Today, you look at what the non-oil sector is doing, and the economy is moving towards that direction by virtue of his policies. So he says it, he does it.

“He promised Nigerians he was going to take out the fuel subsidy. Immediately he came in, on day one, he took it out.

“And you see the firmness with which he stood his ground. Even when they fought back, he stood his ground to this day.

“And we now realize that, oh, oil subsidy was no good for Nigerians.

“And what he did was the best thing that anybody could have done in that circumstance for the benefit of our economy.

“Look at the dollar. Today, the fluctuations we had in the past government are stabilizing because of policies that he took.

“Nigerians are complaining that there is hunger in the land, there is this, there is poverty, there is this.

“But yes, all of the past failures to confront these problems frontally have piled up to the point that what he did was like, you know, you have something stuck in your lap and somebody came to remove it.

“You will feel sharp pain at that point. But then, when the healing process continues, you’ll see how everything will just die down and you’ll have permanent healing.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has called for child sensitive budgeting in Jigawa State to enhance the welfare and development of over 1.5 million children in the state.

Mr. Rahama Rihood Mohammed Farah, Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Kano, made the call while speaking in a Media Dialogue on Child Sensitive Budgeting and Planning.

He said over the years, Jigawa state has made progress in improving the lives of children.

However, according to him, “available data shows that Jigawa State has one of the highest under-five mortality rates in Nigeria, estimated at 127 deaths per 1,000 live births.

“This means approximately 1 in 8 children born in Jigawa do not live to see their fifth birthday.

“55.6% of children under five in Jigawa are stunted. This not only affects their physical growth but irreparably damages their cognitive development, limiting their future potential and trapping families in cycles of poverty.

“Only 5% of children under two receive a minimum acceptable diet.

“While access to primary education has improved, learning outcomes remain a major concern.

“Many children who are in school are not acquiring foundational literacy and numeracy skills crucial for their future.

“For instance, only 2% of primary school learners in Jigawa State have foundational reading skills while less than 1% have numeracy skills.

“Also, children continue to face risks, including child labour and early marriage. Robust systems for child protection require sustained investment to be effective.”

He said children’s sensitive budgeting include, planning, allocating, releasing, spending, and tracking public resources to ensure they effectively and equitably meet children’s specific needs and uphold their rights.

State Commissioner of Budget and Economic planning, Babangida Umar Gantsa said in Nigeria, children continue to face deprivation due to multidimensional poverty and childhood hardships, which have lifelong consequences.

He said Jigawa State Government had been doing its best to protect the rights of children.

Members of the newly formed opposition coalition party ahead of the forthcoming 2027 general elections have revealed why they chose the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

The spokesperson of the opposition coalition, Bolaji Abdullahi, made this revelation on Wednesday, when he appeared as a guest on ‘Politics Today’, a programme on Channels Television.

Abdullahi said that the choice was born out of the party’s openness to reform and alignment with the coalition’s shared values and vision.

“When we started this journey, we had a list of options, parameters, and conditionalities—the kind of party we were looking for. Those from the APC said no, because the founding principles that led to the formation of the APC had been betrayed,” he said.

According to him, the ADC, while not a perfect fit, presented a unique opportunity for reform, stating that the choice of the former Senate President, David Mark, as interim national chairman boils down to his personality as someone everybody has universal confidence in.

OSUNDAILY NG reports that earlier on Wednesday, leaders of the coalition convened at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, where they formally adopted the ADC as their platform to challenge the APC in 2027.

Prominent figures in attendance included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Labour Party’s Peter Obi; former governors Nasir El-Rufai and Rotimi Amaechi; and other political stakeholders such as Dino Melaye, Dele Momodu, Solomon Dalung, Senator Gabriel Suswam, Senator Ireti Kingibe, Emeka Ihedioha, and retired Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.