Articles by Emmanuel Egobiambu

Politics

Senate Moves To Ban Child Soldiers As Armed Forces Bill Passes Second Reading

The Senate has moved to outlaw the recruitment of persons under the age of 18 into the military as it passed the Armed Forces (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2025, for second reading. The provision, which prohibits the enlistment of minors, aligns Nigeria’s military practices with the Child Rights Act (2003), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The bill, sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua (Katsina Central), seeks to repeal the existing Armed Forces Act, 2004, replacing it with a constitutionally compliant and operationally responsive law. Leading the debate on the floor of the Senate, Yar’Adua said the reform was long overdue, underscoring that the current legislation, originally derived from a military decree, no longer meets the demands of modern governance, democratic accountability, or evolving security realities. “Our Armed Forces are a symbol of national unity and pride, but the laws guiding them have not evolved at the same pace as our democracy. This Bill rebuilds the military’s legal foundation to reflect justice, professionalism, and respect for human rights,” the lawmaker said. READ ALSO: Senate Approves Tinubu’s N1.15tn Domestic Loan To Fund 2025 Budget Deficit The proposed legislation introduces sweeping reforms, including expanding the definition of military offences, introducing proportionate punishments, and protecting the independence of courts-martial by criminalizing interference from superior officers, a safeguard against abuse of power. The reform also, for the first time, ensures that legally qualified military officers will be permitted to represent the Armed Forces in civil courts. A standing fund for litigation will also be established to ensure the timely and efficient handling of military-related legal matters. The bill equally replaces obsolete fines, some as low as N200 or N500, with percentage-based penalties tied to an offender’s salary, ensuring that sanctions remain deterrent and reflective of economic realities. The reform also clarifies the chain of command and strengthens civilian control of the military. The bill provides clear constitutional guidance by vesting day-to-day operational command of the Armed Forces in the Chief of Defence Staff, under the authority of the President, in line with Section 218 of the Constitution. This adjustment eliminates ambiguity in command reporting and firmly reinforces the principle of civilian supremacy over the military, a defining feature of all constitutional democracies. The legislation has been referred to the Senate Joint Committee on Army, Navy, and Air Force to report in four weeks.

Politics

Trump Signs Bill To End Record-Breaking US Shutdown

President Donald Trump signed a bill Wednesday to end the longest government shutdown in US history — 43 days that paralyzed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of workers unpaid while Republicans and Democrats played a high-stakes blame game. The Republican-led House of Representatives voted largely along party lines to approve a Senate-passed package that will reopen federal departments and agencies, as many Democrats fume over what they see as a capitulation by party leaders. Trump lashed out at Democrats as he put his signature to the bill later in the Oval Office, urging Americans to remember the chaos when voting in hotly contested US midterm elections in a year’s time. “Today we are sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion,” said Trump, surrounded by gleeful Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson had earlier pointed the finger at the minority party in a withering floor speech before the vote. “They knew that it would cause pain, and they did it anyway,” he said. “The whole exercise was pointless. It was wrong and it was cruel.” The package funds military construction, veterans’ affairs, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress itself through next fall, and the rest of the government through the end of January. Around 670,000 furloughed civil servants will report back to work, and a similar number who were kept at their posts with no compensation — including more than 60,000 air traffic controllers and airport security staff — will get back pay. The deal also restores federal workers fired by Trump during the shutdown, while air travel that has been disrupted across the country will gradually return to normal. Trump falsely accused Democrats of costing the country $1.5 trillion. While the full financial toll of the shutdown has yet to be determined, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it has caused $14 billion in lost growth. READ ALSO: Trump Claims ‘Obligation’ To Sue BBC Over Speech Edit ‘Not backing away’ Johnson and his Republicans had almost no room for error as their majority is down to two votes. Democratic leadership — furious over what they see as their Senate colleagues folding — had urged members to vote no, and all but a handful held the line. Although polling showed the public mostly on the Democrats’ side throughout the standoff, Republicans are widely seen as having done better since its conclusion. For more than five weeks, Democrats held firm on refusing to reopen the government unless Trump agreed to extend pandemic-era tax credits that made health insurance affordable for millions of Americans. Election victories in multiple states last week gave Democrats further encouragement and a renewed sense of purpose. But a group of eight Senate moderates broke ranks to cut a deal with Republicans that offers a vote in the upper chamber on health care subsidies — but no floor time in the House and no guarantee of action. Democrats are now deep in a painful reckoning over how their tough stance crumbled without any notable wins. Democratic leadership is arguing that — while their health care demands went largely unheard — they were able to shine the spotlight on an issue they hope will power them to victory in the 2026 midterm elections. “Over the last several weeks, we have elevated successfully the issue of the Republican health care crisis, and we’re not backing away from it,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told MSNBC. But his Senate counterpart, Chuck Schumer, is facing a backlash from the fractious progressive base for failing to keep his members unified, with a handful of House Democrats calling for his head. Outside Washington, some of the party’s hottest prospects for the 2028 presidential nomination added their own voices to the chorus of opprobrium. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the agreement “pathetic,” while his Illinois counterpart JB Pritzker said it amounted to an “empty promise.” Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg called it a “bad deal.”

Politics

Saraki Urges PDP To Appoint Caretaker Committee, Shelve Convention

A former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to shelve its national convention scheduled for 15-16 November 2025, advising the opposition party to instead appoint a caretaker committee. Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State, stated this when he received members of the PDP BoT Reconciliation Team on Wednesday. “My advice to the BOT team is that the only solution available to us now is for the party to set up a Caretaker Committee to steer the affairs of the party for the time being,” Senator Saraki wrote on his X handle after the meeting. “This must be done in the next two days. This is the path to true reconciliation and stability of the Party. It is also the best way to give confidence to our members who intend to contest elections on the PDP platform.” READ ALSO: PDP Is In Trouble, Party Comatose — Fayose He said the crisis rocking the party makes it difficult for any “serious politician with electoral ambition will seek to contest on the platform of the PDP, not knowing whether his or her nomination would be valid or declared null and void”. The ex-lawmaker warned that while the crisis over the convention does not bode well for the country’s main opposition party and Nigeria’s democracy, going ahead with it will only escalate the impasse. “Therefore, going ahead with the Convention as scheduled is a waste of effort,” he said. “It does not have my support. It’s not too late to find a win-win solution”. His call for the setting up of a caretaker committee comes amid the tussle in the PDP over the conference. There have been conflicting judgements about the convention slated for Ibadan in Oyo State. Last week, a High Court in Oyo asked the party and its acting national chairman, Umar Damagum, to go ahead with the convention. A few days later, an Abuja High Court barred the PDP from holding the event and stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from supervising it or recognising the outcome of the convention.