• Tinubu: They want to get rid of me, but I’m a stubborn politician
• Atiku pushes back on FG’s insecurity tag on opposition
• Says attempts to blackmail opposition won’t rescue failed govt
• Riley Moore pushes bill to demand tough action over killings

Notwithstanding the spike in insecurity nationwide, the blame game and buck-passing of its root cause to the doorsteps of the opposition continued yesterday, with President Bola Tinubu declaring that attempts by his political opponents to exploit insecurity to force him out of office would fail, insisting that he would not only remain in office but also seek a second term.

This is coming two weeks after the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, attributed the rise in insecurity to tactics employed by opposition political parties to distract the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections. According to Akpabio, who spoke at the inauguration of the Nigeria Revenue Service Headquarters in Abuja, the recent security incidents were politically motivated and designed to create fear and discredit the government.

Yesterday, the opposition’s stamp on rising insecurity was again reinforced by President Tinubu while receiving stakeholders from Plateau State, led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang. Speaking at the State House in Abuja, the President described himself as resolute in the face of political pressure.

The President described himself as a “very stubborn politician” whom his enemies tried to get rid of through insecurity. “You are playing to the hand of agents, including my own enemies, who want to use insecurity to get rid of me. But I’m a very stubborn politician. I just refuse to go. And I will campaign for my second term,” Tinubu told his guests who visited from one of the epicentres of recent killings in the country.

The President said the Federal Government would act once those instigating or financing the violence are identified. “If you identify and you know the name of troublemakers, agents or provocateurs who want to continue killing or instigate killing, let us know. We will use the instrument of office to deal with them,” Tinubu said.

He stressed that security agencies would not hesitate to move against such persons once credible intelligence is provided, insisting that the cycle of violence in the state must be broken.

Tinubu also endorsed a newly constituted peace committee involving former governors of Plateau, directing them to work as a single body to review existing white papers on past conflicts and present consolidated recommendations for implementation.

The meeting follows a high-level engagement with the President in the wake of the Angwa Rukuba killings earlier this month. Tinubu, who visited the state, met with some stakeholders, all in an effort to find a lasting solution.

Attempts to blackmail opposition won’t rescue your failed govt, Atiku replies Tinubu
BUT in a swift response, former Vice President and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has warned that attempts to blackmail or silence the opposition will not rescue a government whose record has failed to inspire confidence.

“No amount of deflection or intimidation can rewrite the lived reality of Nigerians. Ultimately, the people will decide, and they will do so based on the evidence before them. When lives are lost and communities are destroyed, governance itself is put on trial. No amount of rhetoric can silence the verdict that comes from the suffering of the people,” Atiku said in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

The Waziri Adamawa was reacting to recent remarks by President Tinubu, suggesting that insecurity will not force him out of office. The leading presidential aspirant on the platform of the opposition ADC, who described such a posture as both troubling and disconnected from the painful reality confronting millions of Nigerians, said leadership is not sustained by defiance, but by responsibility, compassion, and measurable action in the face of national crisis.

The former Vice President noted that while President Tinubu’s decision to seek re-election remains his constitutional right and no one begrudges him that choice, it has become evident that the administration has failed woefully in its most solemn duty—to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.

“It is not political opponents who will judge this administration—it is the blood of innocent Nigerians being shed daily across our land. That blood cries out louder than any declaration of political resolve,” he said.

Atiku lamented that the scale of bloodshed under the present administration has reached intolerable levels, noting that over 10,000 Nigerians have been killed in violent attacks since May 2023, with some estimates placing the figure at over 18,000 lives lost within two years due to persistent insecurity across the country. He stressed that these are not mere statistics, but shattered families, destroyed communities, and a nation steadily bleeding.

He described as deeply offensive, the President’s attempt to dismiss the anguish of grieving families as “playing into the hands of enemies and opponents”, noting that such a characterisation trivialises the pain of thousands of bereaved Nigerians. “It is horrifying that the memories of innocent citizens—slain due to the failure of government to provide adequate security—would be so casually reduced to political rhetoric,” he said.

He further condemned what he called the administration’s indifference to ongoing tragedies, citing the recent attack in Ilejemeje, Ekiti State, where gunmen stormed a church gathering, killing a pastor and abducting worshippers. Atiku stressed that no one is forcing the President out of office, but that the steady decline in public confidence is a direct consequence of the administration’s performance.

The ADC chieftain, who said that the sanctity of human life must remain the ultimate measure of governance, warned that no administration can endure indefinitely in the face of unchecked loss of innocent lives.

Riley Moore pushes bill to demand tough action over killings
THE United States House of Representatives yesterday passed its yearly State Department funding bill, which included steps taken to address the insecurity situation in Nigeria.

Announcing this last night, the U.S. lawmaker, Riley Moore, stated that while the Tinubu administration was spending millions lobbying Congress, the Federal Government was daily failing to adequately address the genocide Nigerian Christians face.

As a result, he said the House Appropriation Committee had passed a bill to address “this crisis. In this bill, I worked with Mario Díaz-Balart to restrict security assistance to Nigeria unless certain criteria are met, including effectively responding to violence and holding perpetrators accountable, prioritising resources for internally displaced persons, and actively returning displaced persons to their ancestral homelands.

“The bill also requires the Secretary of State to assess Abuja’s compliance with these standards. Further, the law requires that any U.S. assistance prioritise: Atrocities prevention, Advancing religious freedom, Prosecuting Fulani ethnic militia groups, criminal gangs, and other jihadist terrorist groups, Accountability for police and security forces, Delivery of humanitarian assistance, Bolstering faith-based organisations’ response in areas impacted by violence and efforts to disarm Fulani ethnic militants.

“The bill we passed out of committee also adds Nigeria to the list of countries requiring much higher levels of oversight. The Secretary is required to submit a plan for every dollar appropriated to Nigeria, and every dollar spent will have direct Congressional oversight.

“The bill also includes millions in funding for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement to address “violence perpetrated by Fulani Ethnic Militia” and other sources of instability in the Middle Belt. That provision also bolsters support for the establishment of state-level police forces so Christians in Plateau and Benue aren’t sitting ducks waiting for help from Abuja.

“In my view, the Tinubu Administration has failed to live up to the conditions the appropriations committee placed on security assistance. I urge the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to take this into account in administering both FY26 and FY27 funding.

“Cracking down on the crisis Christians face in Nigeria has been supported in two appropriations bills by both Republicans and Democrats. The United States will not turn a blind eye to the brutal persecution of our Nigerian brothers and sisters in Christ,” he added.