*‘PIA Implementation on Track’ — Niger Delta Accountability Network Knocks Reps Committee Over ‘Misleading’ Trillion-Naira Claims*

An oil and gas watchdog, the Niger Delta Accountability and Resource Protection Network (NDARPN), has refuted claims by the House of Representatives Committee on the South South Development Commission alleging that Nigeria’s failure to implement key Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) funds has deprived the region of over ₦1 trillion.

In a statement issued on Friday in Port Harcourt, the group’s president, Comrade Ebikabo West, described the committee’s assertions as “sensational, misleading and potentially damaging to the investment stabilisation the PIA has steadily cultivated”.

West said the PIA’s implementation by the respective regulatory bodies, particularly in the management of host community development funds and environmental obligations, has been impactful and more transparent than any pre-PIA framework.

He warned lawmakers against political statements that could “erode investor confidence or disrupt the delicate progress achieved so far”.

“It is simply inaccurate to suggest that the Niger Delta has been denied trillions because the funds are not being operated in the dramatic fashion being portrayed,” West said.

“The host communities development provisions of the PIA are being effectively and rigorously monitored. The regulatory framework now ensures that communities benefit directly, with clear oversight and traceability.”

According to him, the PIA created enforceable obligations that regulators now track with far stronger compliance mechanisms than existed before.

He added that the narrative of “non-implementation” ignores verifiable progress across host communities and environmental management.

“We must be careful not to weaponise environmental concerns or misrepresent regulatory processes. Such portrayals undermine the credibility of reforms and weaken the collective fight for environmental justice,” West warned.

He also emphasised that Nigeria is steadily rebuilding the confidence of multinational oil companies that exited the country due to years of regulatory instability, conflicting directives and institutional pressure that once “strangled investment”.

“After decades of uncertainty, Nigeria now has a stable legislative and fiscal environment. It is only wise to allow the relevant agencies to carry out their mandates strictly within the dictates of the PIA. Any attempt to drag them into political theatrics will jeopardise the gradual return of investor confidence,” the group added.

NDARPN said the National Assembly’s oversight role is important, but must be evidence-based and not driven by assumptions capable of creating confusion or tension in the sector.

“What the Niger Delta needs is consolidation, not disruption. Let the institutions empowered by the PIA continue their work without undue pressure. That is the surest path to accountability, environmental protection and sustainable development,” West advised.

From Chaos to Coordination: The Case for Veteran Security Leaders in Nigeria

FEMI OYEWALE

As Nigeria grapples with a fresh and more diffuse wave of violent attacks—from mass abductions and jihadist offensives in the northeast to rising banditry and communal violence across the North and Middle Belt—citizens and policymakers are asking a pressing question: who is fit to lead the country out of this security quagmire? For many, the answer is clear: experienced security professionals who combine operational expertise, institutional memory, and political acumen—traits embodied by former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.

A deteriorating security landscape

This is no rhetorical problem. In recent months, insurgent activity has surged: mass kidnappings of schoolchildren, renewed offensives by IS-affiliated factions in the Lake Chad Basin, and a humanitarian fallout that has pushed millions toward food insecurity. United Nations and humanitarian assessments warn that escalating attacks and aid shortfalls may leave record numbers of Nigerians vulnerable to hunger.

The federal government has responded with declarations and expanded recruitment. President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide emergency and moved to increase policing and security deployments following high-profile kidnappings. But analysts argue that while necessary, these steps are insufficient without a deeper overhaul of strategy, intelligence, and civil-military coordination.

What experienced security actors bring

Supporters of involving seasoned security leaders point to several complementary strengths:

1. Operational know-how and strategic continuity

Career generals like Buratai have overseen complex counter-insurgency campaigns and institutional reforms. Their experience—ranging from combined-arms operations and logistics under duress to theater-level coordination with regional partners—is not easily replaced. Buratai himself has argued that simplistic personnel changes will not end insurgency without properly understood strategies.

2. Intelligence and information integration

Modern insurgencies thrive on intelligence gaps: porous borders, weak human networks, and poor data-sharing between military, police, and civil authorities. Experienced security professionals are better positioned to rebuild intelligence architectures, including cross-border liaison in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, where jihadist groups operate across borders. Recent analyses highlight this cross-border threat environment and stress the need for coordinated military and intelligence responses.

3. Institutional reform and troop welfare

Studies of Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram highlight recurring problems: low troop morale, logistical shortfalls, intelligence leaks, and strained community relations—all of which blunt operational effectiveness. Experts with institutional experience can advocate structural reforms—improved supply chains, training, and rules of engagement—that strengthen forces without alienating civilians.

4. Political navigation and credibility

Security solutions in Nigeria require buy-in at federal, state, and local levels. Former service chiefs often retain connections inside government and among regional partners and can serve as intermediaries between uniformed forces and civilian authorities—a role proven critical in past crises. Buratai’s recent public interventions on national security issues demonstrate how ex-service chiefs continue shaping public debate and policy.

Acknowledging risks and criticisms

Inviting former generals into leadership roles is not a panacea. Critics cite potential issues: militarization of civilian governance, heavy-handed tactics that alienate communities, and insufficient focus on root causes such as poverty, governance gaps, youth unemployment, and communal grievances. Military success must be paired with governance, development, and reconciliation for durable peace.

There is also a political dimension: using high-profile military figures risks politicizing security campaigns if appointments are perceived as partisan or operational freedom is constrained. Transparency, clear legal mandates, and civilian oversight are essential safeguards.

A pragmatic middle path: experts as partners, not replacements

The most defensible approach is hybrid: appoint or empower seasoned security experts as advisers and architects of reform while ensuring civilian control and robust safeguards. Key policy measures include:

Integrated intelligence reform: Build interoperable systems fusing military, police, and domestic security data; strengthen cross-border intelligence sharing in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions.

Focused professionalization of forces: Prioritize logistics, asymmetric warfare training, troop welfare, and clear rules of engagement to reduce abuses and improve morale.

Community-centered stabilization: Pair operations with local security committees, humanitarian access, agricultural support, and reconciliation to deny insurgents social support.

Regional and international coordination: Work with neighboring states, ECOWAS, the African Union, and partners to close safe havens and cut finance and supply lines for extremist groups.

Clear civilian oversight and legal frameworks: Ensure any role for former senior officers is defined by statutes, reporting lines, and parliamentary oversight.

Nigeria’s security challenge in 2025 is complex and urgent: the country faces a resurgent, adaptive insurgency network with severe humanitarian consequences. Discarding institutional know-how is a luxury Nigeria cannot afford. Experienced security professionals like Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai are not magic bullets—but they bring operational experience, institutional knowledge, and networks that, when embedded within a framework emphasizing civilian oversight, development, and regional cooperation, can materially improve Nigeria’s chances of restoring security.

The essential test will be whether policymakers pair expert military advice with meaningful reforms in intelligence, governance, and community engagement—otherwise, the cycle of violence and humanitarian suffering will continue.

Time is the One Enemy That Cannot Be Bought or Bargained With

By Femi Oyewale

We write not as antagonists but as patriots stirred by a profound and urgent alarm for our nation. The headlines that scream from our pages and screens are more than mere news; they are a symphony of distress from a people whose faith in the foundational covenant of governance—their security and welfare—is fraying towards breaking point.

Nigeria’s security crisis is not merely challenging; it is a fabric unravelling in real time. The brazen abduction of our children, the resurgent fury of jihadist factions in the Northeast, and the metastasizing cancer of banditry and communal violence represent the most clear and present danger to the Nigerian ideal since our civil war. With each passing day, trauma deepens, a humanitarian catastrophe widens, and millions of our compatriots are pushed to the grim precipice of hunger and despair.

Your declaration of a nationwide emergency and the bolstering of our security forces were necessary, even commendable, first steps. But the unvarnished truth, Your Excellency, is that the clock is ticking, and time is a luxury you do not have. The velocity of this collapse demands more than declarations; it insists upon a fundamental and immediate strategic rebirth. The Nigerian people are not just watching; they are suffering. And in a true democracy, their welfare—their simple safety—is the sole, non-negotiable measure of a government’s legitimacy.

In this most critical hour, to ignore the nation’s deep bench of battle-hardened, experienced security professionals would be an act of strategic negligence. We speak of leaders like former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), who embodies a trifecta of assets we can not afford to leave sidelined: deep operational knowledge, invaluable institutional memory, and the political acumen to navigate a complex war.

Consider what such expertise offers at this precipice:

Operational Wisdom, Not Just Force: This is not about reliving past campaigns but about applying their hard-won lessons. Experts like Buratai possess a nuanced grasp of asymmetric warfare, cross-border coordination, and logistical mastery that can prevent our efforts from being blind, costly, and futile.

A Cohesive Intelligence Architecture: Our enemies feast on our disunity. A seasoned security leader can dismantle bureaucratic inertia to fuse our fractured intelligence efforts—military, police, and civilian—into a single, sharp instrument. This is critical in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, where threats respect no borders.

The Reform Our Gallant Forces Deserve: Our troops are consistently let down by systemic failures—poor logistics, sapped morale, and fatal intelligence leaks. Who better champion the urgent reforms in training, welfare, and accountability than those who have commanded these institutions from the inside?

Credibility and Critical Coalition-Building: Decisive victory requires buy-in from every tier of governance and from our international partners. A respected former service chief can be the credible intermediary, bridging the dangerous gap between uniformed forces and civilian authority and rallying regional allies with a voice they know and trust.

We are not naive to the risks. The path forward can not be a mere militarization of the state. Any role for such experts must be framed within a broader, non-negotiable commitment to attacking the root causes: poverty, hopelessness, and the cavernous gaps in local governance. Civilian oversight, transparency, and a parallel surge in development and reconciliation are the essential safeguards.

Thus, we propose a pragmatic and urgent middle path:

· Empower Security Experts as Strategic Architects: Integrate them formally as chief advisers and task them with designing a unified, actionable counter-insurgency strategy.

· Fast-Track Intelligence Integration: Mandate the creation of a single, interoperable intelligence framework with a brutally short deadline.

· Pair Security with Sustenance: Every military advance must be accompanied by an immediate, clear plan for humanitarian access, agricultural revival, and community reconciliation.

· Activate Regional Diplomacy with Immediacy: Leverage their networks to secure concrete, actionable cooperation from our neighbours and international partners—now.

Your Excellency, the legacy of your administration, is being written daily in the blood and tears of Nigerians caught in the crossfire. The institutional knowledge possessed by leaders like General Buratai is not a magic wand, but it is a decisive force multiplier we can no longer afford to discard. It is the vital ingredient in a comprehensive strategy that must marry security with governance, development, and dialogue.

The hour is late. The nation’s patience is exhausted. The world is watching. We urge you to act with the historic courage and decisiveness this moment demands. Bring in the experience, empower the knowledgeable, and marry their expertise with an unrelenting focus on the welfare of the people. This is the only way to secure not just the nation’s borders but the very soul of our democracy.

The choice is stark: a legacy of restored security and national gratitude, or a descent into a chaos from which we may not return. For the sake of Nigeria, we pray you choose wisely.

And we pray you choose now.